British actress & star of "I May Destroy You," Michaela Coel, walked away from $1 million Netflix deal

This show is CRAZY good. Totally unexpected. These characters inhabit a world that I desperately want to live in, even though that same world horrifies me. I can’t even explain it, but yes OP, I am rooting for her.

Yes, would love to be inside her head for 5 minutes.

Fantastic show. The way the stories unfold in every episode is so unique to her world. I love the way she thinks.

Good for her for making a smart deal for herself.

Great and intriguing show. Hopefully HBO keeps it up with awesome television.

The gay scenes in episode 4 were crazy hot. The guy who wound up assaulting her best friend had a sick body and we got to see lots of it. I would’ve had no problem going for round 2 with him.

So a white guy raped her (on the show)? I'm guessing they were too chickenshit to go with the much more realistic option of having a black guy rape her.

Is that Joy?

Netflix is not the BBC, and doesn't share ownership of their titles. So she wants a prize for turning-down a million dollars? I'm sure its not a deal breaker for Netflix. Next.

Fucking loved chewing gum

[quote] But the streamer declined to grant her any percentage of the copyright, so she turned down the deal. She also cut ties with her U.S. talent agency, CAA, after she learned the company would be making a cut from the show.

Seriously fuck Hylda Quelly and CAA

[quote] So a white guy raped her (on the show)? I'm guessing they were too chickenshit to go with the much more realistic option of having a black guy rape her.

Jesus Christ

FF R7's fat, smelly, racist ass

Love her she's brilliant fuck Netflix

I am really loving this show. The rape gay scene was brutal.

I am really loving this show. The rape gay scene was brutal.

Greedy

And Seinfeld was offered how much to do how little?

No fan of Seinfeld here, but he's a proven entity. Seinfeld brings revenue & viewership, so spending money to get Seinfeld brings a nice return. Nothing wrong with a relatively unknown being offered a more precautionary deal or a company wanting to minimize a potential loss.

My feelings were generally positive but there were some parts I really didn't like.

The scene where Kwame goes to the police to report the rape was ridiculous - he'd have been given the same service as Arrabella and spoken to specialist police offers, not a random inexperienced policeman out of his depth. It really irritated me as men might think any assault they face won't be taken as seriously as women. After the Reynhard Sinaga case it's very troubling.

Also didn't like the episode with Theo, the white girl at school who lies about being raped and sexually abused. For a show that dealt with consent in such an innovative way it just hit a sour note, especially the scene with her mum and step dad right at the end.

But the rest of it was fantastic. Coel did an amazing job in writing the supporting characters and the casting is pitch perfect. Paapa Essiedu who plays Kwame is a friend of Coel but still had to audition.

Also I loved Suzi the agent. What a magnificent cunt.

R10, LOVED Chewing Gum also. She made the smart choice but I'm kind of mad she left Netflix before finishing the series. Is her HBO series good???

Where can I watch Chewing Gum? It is not on Netflix, or Hulu...

She's the British Childish Gambino.

r22, if you have a VPN server, you might be able to watch it here.

I would watch her reading the phone book. She needs to win an Emmy next year.

[quote]Also didn't like the episode with Theo, the white girl at school who lies about being raped and sexually abused. For a show that dealt with consent in such an innovative way it just hit a sour note, especially the scene with her mum and step dad right at the end.

I loved that episode because it covered so much ground. You have the boy who obviously was in the wrong for recording having sex with Theo, and Theo obviously in the wrong for lying about a consensual encounter; it showed who Theo learned manipulation through her mother's lies about Theo's father. It made Theo's path sweeter because she changed her life and became a person of service.

[quote]Paapa Essiedu who plays Kwame is a friend of Coel but still had to audition.

He's excellent. And to see him in a different bent, I suggest watching "Gangs of London". It aired on Sky but will be shown on AMC in the U.S.

I didn't like Chewing Gum at all but I'm enjoying this show. May be because I'm a fan of Paapa Essiedu. Saw him at RSC and have loved him since. So talented.

I found Chewing Gum painfully unfunny, which disappointed me because i'd seen stills and gifs online and it looked hilarious. She has such a great face for an actress. But I am LOVING the new show. The writing is fantastic and the imagery is so striking. Great cast. When i'm done with this i'm going to watch her other Hugo Blick show that came out 2 years ago and went under the radar, he always gets the best out of his actors (The Honourable Woman, Sensitive Skin, etc.).

Side note, I think she's had the most excellent plastic surgery. Maybe the chin shaping is a little unsubtle but the cheek implants and nose job are very tastefully done. She is gorgeous. Click the link below for some before / after (the thumbnail is only half the image).

She's also really good in the Dark Mirror episode, USS Callister, where Jesse Plemmons kidnaps his coworkers and traps them in a Star Trek-like computer game. I think she's meant to be a sly homage to Uhuru.

People call her the English Whoopi Goldberg - which is a total insult. She has nuance and intelligence that Whoopi could only dream of.

And not only is she a great actress but her writing is phenomenal. Last Monday's episode needs to be reviewed, at least, three times.

R28 Wow

R30 To be fair, when Whoopi debuted with The Color Purple and especially her one-woman show (that she also wrote) she was considered quite a mercurial talent at the time and was universally acclaimed on stage and screen for her versatility and charisma. Capable of hysterical comedy, devastating drama, many different accents in that stage show, and with a 'look' that was unique and never really seen before from a star in Hollywood (which frankly is probably one of the main reasons Coel was compared to her - people can be quite shallow).

In the years since she's pissed it all away and become a pain in the ass on The View (and to be fair to her I don't think Hollywood ever knew what to do with her, especially back then). She hasn't had a good project in over 2 decades. But I don't think it's an unfair comparison. At the time Whoopi was talking about a lot of issues nobody else was touching, just like Coel.

R30 Who the FUCK calls her that? I've never read such a thing.

r28, I don't know about cheek augmentation, she had really prominent ones and lost a lot of weight. But that nose job is a work of art.

Love that show! I really like how it really challenges even the most enlightened perceptions of who victims are.

R35 it's very subtle, and she always had great cheeks, but I think she has had them done. They protrude outwardly a little more (kind of a diamond shape), and sit slightly higher and more angular (closer to the temple). I agree with you on her nose job being a work of art, there are still surprisingly few rhinoplasty doctors who specialise in ethnic noses. She has obviously done her research.

This is what plastic surgery could / should do for a person. Enhance and highlight their natural, unique features and make them feel better about how they 'already' look.

Can't wait to finish the rest of the season! The show is great.

Is "I May Destroy You" a show about rape-rape?

it is a weird show but I have watched every episode so far

She's should stay as far away as possible from America. We have a knack for exploiting then destroying people with talent.

R37, I think you’re right- I was just focusing on the top right corner of r32’s pic, where her cheekbones look normal, in contrast to the other pics in that montage.

[quote]People call her the English Whoopi Goldberg - which is a total insult. She has nuance and intelligence that Whoopi could only dream of.

Who on earth are these "people"?

The main comparison Coel has been getting is Phoebe Waller Bridge, which is lazy if understandable. They're both great actors, write as well for others as they do themselves, and originated their shows in the theatre.

Coel and Waller Bridge follow in a long line of brilliant actor/writers: Victoria Wood, Jennifer Saunders, Meera Syal, Sacha Baron Cohen, Tracey Ullman, Ricky Gervais and Emma Thompson. and US wise there's Lisa Kudrow, Lela Durham, Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig, Donald Glover, Mindy Kalling and Woody Allen.

They're all similar but all uniquely different.

Just watched final episode but will wait for it to air in the US before discussing spoilers.

Whole other level of brilliant. Truly.

is she on HBO?

R6 I felt the same way. Oops. Thought he was hot.

The most recently aired episode on HBO left my jaw dropped open

Just started watching, "I May Destroy You". Brutal. I read that she based it on her experience of being sexually assaulted.

R18 is part of the new think where no one white paid their dues. I don't like Seinfeld, but he did the grind and paid his dues.

tranny? pass......

LAWDY....who that?

R42 nails it. They all have great charisma when performing work written by/for them. She is really great and good for her for not taking shit.

Couldn't get past the first 5 minutes of the first episode. Didn't like Fleabag either... what's wrong with me? Does it get better? I just find these leads jarring and unwatchable... and I'm a millennial.

Yea, theyr both rather tedious and in ur fukin face. Medicore acting i must say, the shock effect wears thin,

Maybe u R53 should watch The Avengers pt2 again on Disney+, and find a forum more suited to your needs

Did i ask for yo advice monkeyman?

R15, R16 Do we see blood, semen and engorged cock in the rape scene?

r53, I tried Fleabag twice, and couldn't do it- I hate breaking that 4th wall constantly. But no problems with Chewing Gum and I May Destroy You.

R57 nope. They have consensual oral then anal and the as the guy is leaving, date slams door and pushes him back down on the bed and takes him roughly from behind.

[quote]She is really great and good for her for not taking shit.

I was reminded of her today when I was reading that the creators of the Avatar The Last Airbender series were walking away from Netflix's live action project since Netflix wouldn't listen to what they were saying. The men wrote it. It was a hit on Nickelodeon. Years later it ended up on Netflix and by freak accident proved itself to be a hit again and Netflix wouldn't allow them to control their own adaptation.

Michaela had the right idea. If it had of turned out great that's one thing. If it had of turned out bad she would gotten the blame. Glad to hear she maintained control.

I was sad when she said she wouldn't continue Chewing Gum but I got it when she said they basically made her do everything.

I actually think she could be just fine doing someone else's material. She was pretty funny with Mr. Kirsten Dunst and Cristin Milioti in Black Mirror's USS Callister.

A hard pass for me. I wouldn’t waste my precious time watching her ugly face.

I bet you wouldn’t R61. Meanwhile, you probably look like Benny HIll on his deathbed.

ANYWAY...I get what you’re saying R53. I didn’t make it to episode 3 of “Fleabag.” Seen it already. An aimless chick with no inhibitions who thinks she’s smarter than everybody gets into wacky situations and hilarity ensues--except that it doesn’t because we’ve ALL seen it before.

As far as “I May Destroy You,” Coel is VERY aware of her unconventionality. The clothes, the hair, the way she carries herself. The problem is that it can be misconstrued as smug and become offputting really fast--at least to me, BUT her material rises above all of that. It has more depth than derivative shit like “Fleabag.” The wackiness ensues, but it has consequences. This shit is so refreshing. HBO has really knocked it out of the park with shows like this and “Insecure,” “High Maintenance” etc.

I just CANNOT take my eyes off this woman. She is so striking, but I can imagine the shit she probably got growing up.

BTW, “Chewing Gum” is so goddamn charming. I was actually going to start a thread about it when it first came to Netflix, but I cringed at the thought of posters like R61 who clearly only watches reality shows on Bravo with vapid pretty people doing vapid pretty things.

Love, love, love Chewing Gum. I must admit that I found I May Destroy You unsettling at first, but Coel is one fierce bitch and that won me over.

I am shocked to find out that Netflix literally owns the original shows and not the creators apparently. Until now, I thought Netflix just has the streaming / distribution rights.

I'm loving IMDY and it's the first show since Succession that I've loyaly watched week to week. Unfortunately, while the women characters are so dynamic, I'm disappointed in how the sole gay character is presented. From his first appearance he's been singularly focused on sex and hooking up. While I'm both impressed by his success rate and understand his character is used to examine sex being used to fill an emotional void, it's still...expected (a rarity for the show).

It's interesting how she presents social media as aggression.

R65 and R66 It's a little TOO real but spot-on.

I know I'm not the smartest bitch on DL, but I sometimes find I Will Destroy You a bit hard to follow.

r665, but all the characters are about hooking up.

Opening song in the last episode: Stand for the World. One of my favorite songs ever!

R68, I find reading recaps at sites like Vulture helpful. I had no idea what was going on in this past episode until I read two recaps.

Oy..I tried watching the first episode of "I may Destroy You" and I could barely understand a word of it.....I'll wait till the subtitled version shows up somewhere.

{R72], just turn on closed captioning - the captions are good and even list the songs selected for the soundtrack.

Last night episode was great.

Is she trans? He looks trans.

Good for her!

I think she's pretty awesome and I loved Chewing Gum. I just found out "I may destroy You" is on BBC IPlayer so I'll be watching that.

The finale was fantastic.

I may give this show another try. I saw the first two episodes but may go back and try to pick up where I left off.

r77

what the fuck was that?

Michaela Coel is - and I don't use this term lightly - a genius. A million measly dollars to one of the best television writers alive right now? Fuck Netflix.

Boring, baked drivel from PR shills. This is nothing but mediocre, racially fetishized shock value that passes for art these days.

I thought the show was weird and interesting but I was put off sometimes by her clownish mannerisms and physicality. I liked it but wanted to love it.

Is this a show about ugly people having sex?

The last episode was pretty phenomenal. The only problem, our cute gay boy ends alone.....

This is the first show in a long time I watched on a week to week basis. When I think back to the first episode I can't believe how it totally twisted and confused what I thought it would be. I don't know what I think about the finale, but I'm in awe of what was created.

This show left me totallycold, but I watched it through. It reminded me of a less clever, less shocking Girls. Like that show, apart from the autobiographical lead, it seemed more like something a writer cooked up than anything resembling human experience. We were asked to believe a gay man who perpetually trolls Grindr would be traumatized by an act of frottage following consensual sex.

I’m gonna have to watch that finale again. Was thrown off guard. Then got back on track. And then a bit of a let down at the very end.

The show isn’t in NZ Netflix. I wanted to check it out.

[quote] FF [R7]'s fat, smelly, racist ass

Just block. I never saw the ugly racist comment until it was quoted by someone else.

[quote]This show left me totallycold, but I watched it through.

I did too. I had a hard time empathizing with the characters because they were incredibly stupid people who did incredibly stupid things. But I appreciated the performances, the music and the stylistic flourishes. I think the hype about Coel is way overinflated, but good for her for what she's accomplished.

R86 Frottage? I thought it was full-on penetration. The white guy who played the rapist was phenomenal. His name is Lewis Reeves and I remember him from "My Night with Reg" at the Donmar where he displayed a magnificent penis. Somebody must have the screencaps.

Kwame rape was not penetrative on the second time (as he told the investigator) and the rapist was Black. The dialogue was difficult, so maybe I misinterpreted but at least one other person heard the same thing. Arabella’s rapist (Lewis Graves, who has played gay many times) was white.

I would let the rapist's black friend have his way with me.

Just finished it. I couldn't stop watching. Sailed through the whole season in two days. It is very compelling, funny but dark. I love Michaela Coel. She is in our favorite "Black Mirror" ("USS McAllister") and now I want to see everything she's done.

I've read "I May Destroy You" is a 1 season series. That sucks.

The finale made my heart so full. Healing through creation as the final path. I fucking loved it.

Sorry, I tried. And I wanted to like it, but I couldn’t get into the show. It sounds like the entire show is about RAPE. Rape is a compelling subject, but I’m reading the comments here and it sounds like at least two other characters get raped.

No thanks.

The entire show is not about rape, R96. If anything, it is a show about consent, and how contemporary culture in all manner of ways allows us the freedom to give and withdraw it, but also makes us sometimes wilfully complicit when the waters are muddied, and sometimes doesn’t even give us the fucking option of giving or withdrawing it - especially for women. More than any other show I’ve seen this year, it acknowledges the complexity of its subject matter, and offers no easy answers. It is audacious and brilliant.

I concur with the poster upthread who calls Coel a genius. IMDY is easily the best thing on television this year.

And to add: the first episode of the second series of Chewing Gum is one my favourite episodes of television ever.

Fleabag at least was quirky and funny. Why would I invest 10 hours on a show about people being brutally raped?

What the fuck is the point?

I mean...it's about more than people being brutally raped, dude.

It is a great show. And the ending was great.

R99, what else is it about? I gave it a chance, but the episode I saw was sheer misery. The main character seemed likable, which made it even more miserable. Maybe I’m too burned out on people being brutal.

Are there some laughs involved?

Will there be a second season? If so, will there be more rape?

Was it in protest that the Markles are getting 150 times that, for doing nothing?

I bailed out of this show after the third episode (it just didn't do it for me) but reading the comments here, I may go back and try again.

I’m rooting for her even though the show is not my cup of tea.

Fuck Netflix with a rusty razor.

It’s about consent and the many ways it manifests itself. And how it’s so complicated that many times we question whether we have consent after the fact.

Like the three way in Ostia. At the time she was really into it, but later on she realized that she really didn’t sign up for that.

Same with the male rape. He went over for a hookup but he can still say no. It doesn’t mean “he wanted” it If he changed his mind.

Coel felt that lack of empowerment — and that of her fellow Black castmates — on the first day on the Chewing Gum set.

“Coel arrived the first day to discover that five Black cast members were confined to a single trailer, while a white actor had one to herself,” Vulture reported. The Chewing Gum creator “stormed into the production office” upon seeing the trailer set-up.

I'm going to agree with R90: "I had a hard time empathizing with the characters because they were incredibly stupid people who did incredibly stupid things. But I appreciated the performances, the music and the stylistic flourishes." I also appreciated the way it presented the many complications of sexual consent and manipulation. It also made me *very* glad I'm out of the dating/relationship pool and do not have to navigate those waters any longer.

And I'm not saying that every TV show (or movie or novel or play, etc.) has to have at least one relatable, likeable character (because they don't!), but, man, there was no one on this show I'd want to spend more than half an hour with in real life. (And yet I watched the entire series, so Coel clearly did something right in getting me to spend six hours with her creations.)

This is *incredible*. Love her - straight up genius.

I think she's exquisite but a little disappointed she had her entire face redone. It doesn't seem to match with her courage and authenticity. On the other hand, since her shows are about looking at her face for 80 percent of the time, it was probably a good move.

I thought it would have been more effective as a shorter, more compact series.

Obviously, Troll 5823 is back with a new login and bumping her old thread at R110. 🤨

No, honestly. I watched the series yesterday and wanted to read more about her. Peace.

Michaela wins BAFTA awards: