Michaela Coel Finally Announces Her Follow-Up To I May Destroy You And We're Already Obsessed

Michaela Coel has finally unveiled details of what fans can expect from her new show, four years after getting the world talking with I May Destroy You.

Back in 2020, the British actor and screenwriter started all kinds of conversations globally with her BBC drama, which centred around important themes like sexual assault, race, mental health and toxic masculinity, earning her wins at both the TV Baftas and Emmys.

On Monday afternoon, it was announced that Michaela was once again collaborating with the BBC and HBO on First Day On Earth, a brand new drama which is due to begin filming next year.

Michaela will once again take the lead in the show as well as writing it, playing Henri, a British novelist whose “work has dried up” and relationship is “going nowhere”.

An official synopsis teases: “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 heritage.

“But when she arrives neither the job nor her father turn out the way she expected, and 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 stronger, but could also break her.”

Michaela said of the intriguing new project: “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.”

Michaela is also set to work with Jesse Armstrong, best known as the creator of the US drama Succession, on First Day On Earth.

The BBC first confirmed that Michaela was at work on a follow-up to I May Destroy You back in 2021.

Piers Wenger, the broadcaster’s director of drama, teased at the time: “There is a relationship between [Michaela’s hit comedy] Chewing Gum and I May Destroy You, there is a sort of through line to Michaela’s thinking and I suspect there may be elements but it’s really too early to say anything too specific.”

It was previously revealed that Michaela opted to work with both the BBC and HBO after turning down a deal reportedly worth millions with Netflix.

Since I May Destroy You, Michaela has made a guest appearance in Amazon’s adaptation of Mr And Mrs Smith and joined the Marvel universe as Aneka in the Black Panther sequel Wakanda Forever.