Michaela Coel will star in, and write and executive produce, a new drama series co-produced by HBO and BBC.
The series, titled “First Day on Earth,” also boasts that “Succession” creator Jesse Armstrong is among the executive producers. Phil Clarke and Roberto Troni are also executive producers for Armstrong’s Various Artists Limited, as are Jo McClellan for the BBC and Piers Wenger for A24. The series will begin filming in 2025.
“I’m delighted to be working with VAL, HBO and the BBC again and to be partnering with A24. Thanks to their taste, care and expertise, I feel our show is in good hands,” said Coel. “‘First Day on Earth’ is another very personal story for me that I hope will captivate viewers around the world and I can’t wait for audiences to join Henri on her journey.”
The official logline of the series is:
“British novelist Henri (Coel) is stuck. She’s out of work, her relationship isn’t progressing. 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 origins. But when she arrives, neither the job nor her father turn out as she expected, and soon Henri must contend with danger and hypocrisy, make new friends, lose her illusions, and develop a new sense of identity – one that may make her stronger, but could also break her.”
Coel is best known as the creator, lead actress and executive producer of the critically acclaimed miniseries I May Destroy You, for which she also worked with the BBC, HBO and Various Artists. This series aired in 2020 and quickly became one of the most acclaimed shows of the year. Coel won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, and the series also won the Emmy for Outstanding Music Direction, out of a total of nine nominations.
“Michaela’s words have the ability to captivate the reader like no other,” said Amy Gravitt, executive vice president of comedy programming at HBO & Max. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to continue the conversation that began with ‘I May Destroy You’ alongside our close collaborators at VAL, A24 and the BBC. With Henri as our guide, ‘First Day on Earth’ is as lyrical as it is emotional in its exploration of the idea of home.”
This is Coel’s first contribution as a writer since I May Destroy You. She previously wrote and starred in the E4 series Chewing Gum, which aired for two seasons between 2015 and 2017. As an actress, Coel has appeared in films such as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Been So Long and Monsters: Dark Continent. Her television credits include Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Black Earth Rising, several episodes of Black Mirror and Top Boy.
More to follow …
