Michaela Coel to create new BBC drama series with possible links to I May Destroy You

Project is one of six new dramas announced by the BBC

Michaela Coel is set to create a new BBC series which may have ties to her acclaimed 2020 drama I May Destroy You.

The project was announced as one of several new BBC shows during a virtual event on Tuesday (18 May), with new series from Shane Meadows (This is England), Stefan Golaszewski (Him & Her) and Dolly Alderton also confirmed.

Speaking to Deadline, the BBC’s drama controller Piers Wenger discussed Coel’s new series.

“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 said.

“What relationship that show will have with the original series, [is for Michaela to decide]. There’s a relationship between Chewing Gum and I May Destroy You. There’s a through line to her thinking. 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 starred Coel as Arabella, a woman who is raped while on a night out. The series, produced for BBC One and HBO, earned wide praise, notably for its exploration of trauma and its aftermath.

The other dramas announced by the BBC include an adaptation of Alderton’s autobiography Everything I Know About Love, a period drama created by Meadows, and an original drama series by Queenie author Candice Carty-Williams.

Theresa Ikoko, the award-winning writer of indie film Rocks, is also adapting her forthcoming novel Wahala, and Daisy May Cooper is attached to a series from author and playwright Cash Carraway, based on her debut memoir.