New Michaela Coel Series for BBC, HBO

Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You, Chewing Gum) is behind the new drama First Day on Earth for the BBC in co-production with HBO.

Made by Various Artists Limited (Juice, Such Brave Girls) for BBC iPlayer and BBC One, the ten-part series will see Coel write, star and serve as an executive producer. First Day on Earth is being made in association with A24.

Executive producing alongside Coel are Jesse Armstrong (Succession), Phil Clarke and Roberto Troni for Various Artists Limited, Jo McClellan for the BBC and Piers Wenger for A24.

In the series, Coel plays British novelist Henri. Feeling stuck, her work has dried up, and her relationship is going nowhere. 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 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.

Coel said: “I am delighted to be working with VAL, the BBC and HBO again, and to partner with A24; thanks to all of their combined taste, care and expertise, I feel our show is in great hands. The process of creating FDOE 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!”

Various Artists Limited executive producers Phil Clarke and Roberto Troni said: “We’re delighted and feel extremely lucky that Michaela chose to bring her brilliant new show to us, after the extraordinary experience we had working together on I May Destroy You. Yet again, Michaela delivers a highly original, singular story that explores the relationship between England and Ghana via a second-generation British-Ghanaian woman who takes up the opportunity to return to the homeland of her parents and finds herself encountering a cast of memorable characters and experiences that force her to face some painful home truths. But as ever with Michaela, it is by turns shocking, funny and unforgettable, and done in her inimitable style.”

Lindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama, added: “Michaela is one of those exceptional talents whose work I have long admired. I May Destroy You is one of the reasons I wanted to join the BBC! In First Day on Earth, Michaela has created another unmissable series—truly original, heartfelt, hilarious, poetic storytelling and told in a way that only Michaela can. I can’t wait for everyone to see it.”

Amy Gravitt, executive VP of HBO and Max comedy programming, said: “Michaela’s words have the ability to transport the reader like no other. I am 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 visceral in its excavation of the idea of home.”