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I May Destroy You

I May Destroy You is a British black comedy-drama television limited series created, written, co-directed, and executive produced by Michaela Coel for BBC One and HBO. The series is set in London with a predominantly Black British cast.[1] Coel stars as Arabella, a young writer in the public eye who seeks to rebuild her life after being raped. The series premiered on 7 June 2020 on HBO and on 8 June 2020 on BBC One.[2]

I May Destroy You was recognised as the most critically acclaimed television programme of 2020 by multiple publications[3][4][5] and was described by The New York Times as "the perfect show for an anxious world."[6] It has since been named one of the greatest television series of all time.[7][8][9][10]

The series won the BAFTA TV Awards for Best Mini-Series, Best Actress, Best Director: Drama, Best Writer: Drama and Best Editing: Fiction, in addition to two RTS Programme Awards, two Independent Spirit Awards, a Gotham Award, a GLAAD Media Award, an NAACP Image Award and a Peabody Award. It also received nine nominations at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series; it won two awards including Outstanding Writing for Coel.[11]

Premise

Arabella is a young Twitter-star-turned-novelist in her late twenties who found fame with her debut book Chronicles of a Fed-Up Millennial and is publicly celebrated as a Millennial icon. While struggling to meet a deadline for her second book, she takes a break from work to meet up with friends on a night out in London. The following morning, she struggles to remember what happened to her, but recalls the events of the night with the help of her friends Terry and Kwame.

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Notable guests

Episodes

Release

The series premiered on 8 June 2020 on BBC One in the United Kingdom.[13] The first episode had already premiered in advance on 7 June 2020 on HBO and HBO Max in the United States.[28]

Production

Coel stated in a lecture at the 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe that she had been sexually assaulted while writing Chewing Gum, and that the experience provided inspiration for the series.[29]

Originally titled January 22nd, the series is produced by Coel's production company, FALKNA Productions. It is executive produced by Coel, Phil Clarke, Roberto Troni, and Jo McClellan for BBC One.[30] Coel is also co-director and writer for I May Destroy You. Coel turned down a $1 million (£800,000) offer from Netflix for the show because the deal would have taken full rights ownership away from the creator. Coel subsequently made a deal with the BBC which allowed Coel full creative control and ownership rights of her project and the BBC brought on HBO as a co-producer to help fund the project.[31]

The series was predominantly filmed in the London Borough of Hackney with some scenes filmed in Italy.

School interior and exteriors for the flashback scenes were shot at Acland Burghley School in the London Borough of Camden.

Reception

Critical response

I May Destroy You holds an average score of 86 out of 100 based on reviews from 25 critics on review aggregator Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim".[5] On Rotten Tomatoes, 97% of 72 reviews are positive, with an average score of 8.55/10. The website's critical consensus is, "I May Destroy You is at once brave and delicate, untangling the trauma of sexual assault with dark humour and moments of deep discomfort all held together on the strength of Michaela Coel's undeniable talent."[32]

Writing for The New York Times, critic Mike Hale called the series "touching and quietly hilarious." He praised Coel and the show's willingness to push boundaries.[33] In her review for Time, critic Judy Berman noted the show's unique and complex telling of a story centred on sexual assault after the Me Too movement.[28]

The show featured heavily on year-end lists. Metacritic listed it as the best TV show of the year based on critic top 10 lists, with more than thirty #1 placements.[34] French newspaper Le Monde includes I May Destroy You in its Top 10 of the best 2020 TV shows.[35]

In 2021, BBC Culture polled 206 "critics, journalists, academics and industry figures" from around the world to compile the 100 greatest television series of the 21st century; I May Destroy You came in at number 6.[36] In 2022, the series came in nineteenth place on the Rolling Stone list of the 100 greatest TV shows of all time.[37] In December 2023, Variety ranked I May Destroy You #94 on its list of the 100 greatest TV shows of all time.[38] Empire ranked the series number eighty one on their list of The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time white the Time Out named it the fiftieth best television show of all time.[39]

Awards and nominations

Notes

  1. ^ With some dialogue in Italian and Twi
  2. ^ "Someone Is Lying" was first released on BBC iPlayer on 8 June 2020, ahead of its broadcast on television.
  3. ^ a b "Don't Forget the Sea" and "That Was Fun" were first released on BBC iPlayer on 15 June 2020, ahead of their broadcast on television.
  4. ^ a b "...It Just Came Up" and "The Alliance" were first released on BBC iPlayer on 22 June 2020, ahead of their broadcast on television.
  5. ^ a b "Happy Animals" and "Line Spectrum Border" were first released on BBC iPlayer on 29 June 2020, ahead of their broadcast on television.
  6. ^ a b "Social Media Is a Great Way to Connect" and "The Cause the Cure" were first released on BBC iPlayer on 6 July 2020, ahead of their broadcast on television.
  7. ^ a b "Would You Like to Know the Sex?" and "Ego Death" were first released on BBC iPlayer on 13 July 2020, ahead of their broadcast on television.

References

  1. ^ Jospeh, Chanté (9 June 2020). "Black British Millennial Content Is A Rarity But I May Destroy You Feels Like The Start Of A New Standard". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  2. ^ Obenson, Tambay (26 May 2020). "'I May Destroy You' Trailer: Michaela Coel's New HBO Series Promises to Be Bold and Provocative". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  3. ^ Mangan, Lucy (8 June 2020). "I May Destroy You review – could this be the best drama of the year?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  4. ^ James, Emily St (7 August 2020). "HBO's I May Destroy You might be the best TV show of the year". Vox. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  5. ^ a b "I May Destroy You". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  6. ^ Chocano, Carina (29 July 2020). "'I May Destroy You' Is Perfect TV for an Anxious World". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  7. ^ "The 100 greatest TV series of the 21st Century". BBC. 18 October 2021. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  8. ^ "The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time". Variety. 20 December 2023.
  9. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (26 September 2022). "The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  10. ^ "The 100 Best TV Shows Of All Time". Empire. 27 June 2024. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  11. ^ "I May Destroy You". Television Academy. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  12. ^ a b c d "HBO's New Half-Hour Series "I May Destroy You," Executive Produced, Co-Directed, Written by, and Starring Michaela Coel, Debuts Sunday, June 7". The Futon Critic. 21 May 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  13. ^ a b "I May Destroy You - new drama by Michaela Coel for BBC One". BBC Media Centre. 11 May 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
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  19. ^ Digital Spy https://decider.com/2020/07/13/i-may-destroy-you-episode-6-theo/
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External links