Michaela Coel could be adding to her I May Destroy You universe with a new TV series.
Deadline reports that Coel is working on a new series with BBC with possible ties to I May Destroy You, as the network alluded to during their virtual event Tuesday. The series was one of several series the BBC debuted to participants. But, even though the network gave hints that Coel’s new series is within her I May Destroy You world, no other details were given. HBO has the stateside rights to the show and co-produced it.
BBC drama controller Piers Wenger said to Deadline that Coel’s idea is still in its developing stages, saying, “It’s truly in Michaela’s head and it’s not for me to second guess that too much at this point. It’s at relatively early stages, but I wanted to let the fans of I May Destroy You know that there is a new show coming along.” He also added that Coel will decide how much of through line there is between this new show and her previous one.
“There’s a relationship between Chewing Gum and I May Destroy You. There’s a through-line to her thinking,” he said. “I suspect there may be elements [of I May Destroy You] but it’s really too early to say anything specific.”
I May Destroy You became one of the most talked-about shows of 2020 for its searing and vulnerable portrayal of the emotional aftermath of sexual assault. Coel famously turned down $1 million from Netflix regarding her show, taking it to HBO instead. Coel said she turned down the lucrative deal because she learned that she wouldn’t be able to retain any of her copyright over the series. The deal also led her to fire her representation at the time, CAA, when it tried to push the deal on her because CAA would have profited from the deal.
BBC is also in development on other projects from Rocks writer Theresa Ikoko and Queenie author Candice Carty-Williams. Ikoko is adapting Nikki May’s debut novel, Wahala,, which “follows three 30-something Anglo-Nigerian female friends living in London, successfully navigating a world that mixes roast dinners with jollof rice.” Carty-Williams is developing a drama series titled Champion, which “tells the story of what happens when fame collides with family. The series follows Bosco Champion, a once prodigal son and a U.K. rap sensation before he was jailed, is home from prison, and ready to dominate the music industry once more. But he’ll have to compete with his sister Vita, Bosco’s former personal assistant who has stepped out of his shadow and signed with his rival to become a performer in her own right.”