I May Destroy You’s Michaela Coel returns with new ‘personal’ TV show

Michaela Coel, the prodigious storyteller behind one of the most acclaimed series of the past decade, I May Destroy You, has another project on the boil.

Coel today confirmed she will return with her first new show in four years, an hour-long 10-part series called First Day on Earth, which will explore the concept of home.

She will write, executive produce and star in the show for BBC and HBO with American indie production house A24 also on board.

It will tell the “very personal” story of British novelist Henri (Coel) who is stuck in a rut - she has neither work nor personal fulfilment. To break the cycle, she jumps at an opportunity to take a job in Ghana, where her parents are from and where her estranged father still lives.

But when she arrives, her expectations are upended. According to the official description from the BBC, “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 strong, but could also break her”.

Coel added in a statement, “The process of creating First Day on Earth thus far has been a beautifully intimate experience, and I am excited to embark on the next phase to eventually offer as another televisual gift for anyone willing to accompany Henri on what will be a wild odyssey!”

Coel first gained international attention for creating the series Chewing Gum, which she adapted from her stage play Chewing Gum Dreams. It was centred on a 24-year-old sales assistant who came from a very religious background as she explored sex and desire.

But it was her 2020 series I May Destroy You that catapulted her profile. Inspired by her own experiences, the show told the story of a young writer who was raped in a toilet at a bar. The towering series was a blistering examination of consent, assault and trauma as the character tried to deal with the aftermath.

Coel turned down a $US1 million offer from Netflix to produce the series, opting to work with the BBC because it allowed her to retain more creative control and ownership of her work.

It won two BAFTA TV Awards including for a miniseries while Coel claimed the best actress gong. Coel also won an Emmy for writing while the show was awarded two accolades at the Indie Spirit Awards.

Coel was most recently seen in the Marvel movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and in a guest role on Mr & Mrs Smith, for which she has been nominated for an Emmy. She will next be in Mother Mary, a film by director David Lowery and co-starring Anne Hathaway.

Lindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama, said of the decision to commission First Day on Earth, “Michaela is one of those exceptional talents whose work I have long admired.

“I May Destroy You is one of the reasons I wanted to join the BBC. In the First Day on Earth, Michaela has created another unmissable series – truly original, heartfelt, hilarious, poetic storytelling and told in a way that only Michaela can.”

First Day on Earth counts among its executive producers Jesse Armstrong, the much-awarded creator of Succession who had also written for The Thick of It, Black Mirror, Veep and Peep Show.

Filming is expected to start in 2025.