The BBC has announced First Day On Earth, a new ten-part drama from I May Destroy You creator Michaela Coel
Michaela Coel came to prominence in 2017 when she wrote and starred in the quirky E4 sitcom Chewing Gum. Her next project was the searing BBC drama I May Destroy You, which chronicled a woman’s experience of sexual assault. The show won a plethora of awards, including the BAFTA for Best Actress, and Coel became the first black woman to win the Emmy for Putstanding Writing in a Limited Series.
The BBC has now announced Coel’s new drama, First Day On Earth, a co-production with HBO.
The synopsis reads as follows:
British novelist Henri (Michaela Coel) is stuck. Work has dried up, her relationship is going nowhere. So when she’s offered a job on a film in Ghana, West Africa – her parents’ homeland, where her estranged father lives – she can’t resist the chance to reconnect with him and the country of her heritage.
But when she arrives neither the job nor her father turn out the way she expected, and soon Henri has to deal with danger and hypocrisy, form new friendships, lose her illusions, and create a new sense of identity – one that might leave her stronger, but could also break her.
Coel said in a statement, “I am delighted to be working with VAL, the BBC and HBO again, and to partner with A24; thanks to all of their combined taste, care and expertise, I feel our show is in great hands. The process of creating FDOE thus far has been a beautifully intimate experience, and I am excited to embark on the next phase to eventually offer this as another televisual gift for anyone willing to accompany Henri on what will be a wild odyssey!”.
Coel wikl also executive produce alongside Jesse Armstrong, Phil Clarke and Roberto Troni for Various Artists Limited, Jo McClellan for the BBC and Piers Wenger for A24.
First Day On Earth will begin filming next year. You can watch Chewing Gum on Channel 4 and I May Destroy You on BBC iPlayer.
