I May Destroy You is a British black comedy-drama television series created, written, co-directed, and executive produced by Michaela Coel for BBC One and HBO. The series is set in London with a predominantly Black British cast. Coel stars as Arabella, a young writer in the public eye who seeks to rebuild her life after being raped, with co-stars Weruche Opia as Terry and Paapa Essiedu as Kwame, her two best friends. The series premiered on 7 June 2020 on HBO and on 8 June 2020 on BBC One.
I May Destroy You received rave reviews; it was hailed as a masterpiece upon release and was quickly named one of the greatest television series of all time. Its writing, direction, editing, soundtrack, and the performances of the lead trio were all acclaimed by critics. The series won the BAFTA TV Awards for Best Mini-Series, Best Actress, Best Director: Drama, Best Writer: Drama and Best Editing: Fiction. At the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards, the series received nine nominations including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series; it won two awards including Outstanding Writing for Coel, making her the first black woman to win the award in the category.
Contents
Premise
Arabella is a young Twitter-star-turned-novelist in her late twenties living in London. She has found fame with her debut book Chronicles of a Fed-Up Millennial, and is publicly celebrated as a Millennial icon. While struggling to meet a deadline for her second book, she takes a break from work to meet up with friends on a night out. The following morning, she struggles to remember what happened to her, but recalls the events of the night with the help of her friends Terry and Kwame.
Cast and characters
The cast consists of mostly Black British actors. They include:
Main
Michaela Coel as Arabella Essiedu, a writer
Weruche Opia as Terry Pratchard, Arabella's best friend and a struggling actor
Paapa Essiedu as Kwame, Arabella's best friend
Notable guests
Katherine Jakeways as Jacki
Juno Dawson as Scarlett
Kadiff Kirwan as Officer Tom
Antonia Clarke as Emily
Vivian Oparah as Bisola
Jonathan Slinger as doctor
Release
The series premiered on 7 June 2020 on HBO and HBO Max in the United States, and on 8 June 2020 on BBC One in the UK.
Production
Coel stated in a lecture at the 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe that she had been sexually assaulted while writing Chewing Gum, and that the experience provided inspiration for the series.
Originally titled 22 January, the series is produced by Coel's production company, FALKNA Productions. It is executive produced by Coel, Phil Clarke, Roberto Troni, and Jo McClellan for BBC One. Coel is also co-director and writer for I May Destroy You. Coel turned down a $1 million (£800,000) offer from Netflix for the show because the deal would have taken full rights ownership away from the creator. Coel subsequently made a deal with the BBC which allowed Coel full creative control and ownership rights of her project and the BBC brought on HBO as a co-producer to help fund the project.
The series was predominantly filmed in the London Borough of Hackney, with some scenes filmed in Italy. School interior and exteriors for the flashback scenes were shot at Acland Burghley School in the Camden.
Reception
Critical response
I May Destroy You holds an average score of 86 out of 100 based on reviews from 25 critics on review aggregator Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim". On Rotten Tomatoes, 97% of 72 reviews are positive, with an average score of 8.55/10. The website's critical consensus is, "I May Destroy You is at once brave and delicate, untangling the trauma of sexual assault with dark humour and moments of deep discomfort all held together on the strength of Michaela Coel's undeniable talent." I May Destroy You has been considered by multiple publications to be one of the greatest television series of all time.
Writing for The New York Times, critic Mike Hale called the series "touching and quietly hilarious." He praised Coel and the show's willingness to push boundaries. Carina Chocano, also writing in The New York Times, described the series as "the perfect show for an anxious world." In her review for Time, critic Judy Berman noted the show's unique and complex telling of a story centred on sexual assault after the Me Too movement.