Michaela Coel to work with Succession creator Jesse Armstrong on BBC drama
Her character Henri will struggle with relationship and work issues, before taking on film work in Ghana.
Michaela Coel will work with Succession creator Jesse Armstrong as she creates a new drama about a British novelist that returns to her family’s home country of Ghana.
The 36-year-old actress and writer, who was born in east London to Ghanaian parents, teamed up with HBO and the BBC on her sexual consent series I May Destroy You, which went on to win two Baftas and an Emmy.
She has returned to work with the two broadcasters on the new series First Day On Earth, which will see Coel write, star and serve as an executive producer.
The other executive producers include Armstrong, Phil Clarke and Roberto Troni for Various Artists Limited (VAL), Jo McClellan, a BBC commissioning editor, and former BBC director of drama Piers Wenger, who works for A24.
Coel’s character Henri is going through relationship and work issues when she decides to take a job on a film in Ghana, where her parents are from.
Henri also sees it as a place where she can connect with her estranged father as well as her heritage.
Coel said: “Thanks to all of their combined taste, care and expertise, I feel our show is in great hands.
“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 this as another televisual gift for anyone willing to accompany Henri on what will be a wild odyssey.”
In Ghana, Henri will encounter a job and father who do not “turn out the way she expected” along with “danger and hypocrisy”, the BBC said.
She will also “form new friendships, lose her illusions, and create a new sense of identity – one that might leave her stronger, but could also break her”.
Announcing the series ahead of the Edinburgh TV Festival on Tuesday, Lindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama, said: “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 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. I can’t wait for everyone to see it.”
Filming on the 10-part series will begin later this year.
It is made by VAL, who worked on I May Destroy You, in association with the production company A24.
Clarke and Troni said: “Yet again, Michaela delivers a highly original, singular story that explores the relationship between England and Ghana via a second generation British-Ghanaian woman who takes up the opportunity to return to the homeland of her parents and finds herself encountering a cast of memorable characters and experiences that force her to face some painful home truths.
“As ever with Michaela, it is by turns shocking, funny and unforgettable, and done in her inimitable style.”
Coel rose to fame after writing and starring in E4 sitcom Chewing Gum, for which she won a Bafta for best female comedy performance in 2016.
She then found critical acclaim for I May Destroy You, which was inspired by her personal experience.
Coel is also known for dark anthology series Black Mirror, drama Black Earth Rising, musical romance Been So Long and superhero movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
In 2022, she was honoured for “fearless” advocacy through her work, both on and off camera with the Jane Fonda Humanitarian Award at an Women In Film (WIF) event.
