I May Destroy You


I May Destroy You is a British comedy-drama television series created, written, co-directed, and executive produced by Michaela Coel for BBC One and HBO. The series is set in London and stars Coel as Arabella, a young woman who seeks to rebuild her life after being raped. The series premiered on 8 June 2020 on BBC One and on 7 June 2020 on HBO.

Plot

Arabella is a Twitter-star-turned-novelist who found fame with her debut book Chronicles of a Fed-Up Millennial and is publicly celebrated as a Millennial icon. Whilst 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, though recalls the events of the night with the help of her friends Terry and Kwame.

Cast and characters

Main

Release

The series premiered on 8 June 2020 on BBC One in the United Kingdom. The first episode had already premiered in advance on 7 June 2020 on HBO in the United States.

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.
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. Coel is also co-director and writer for I May Destroy You.

Critical response

Early reviews of I May Destroy You have been overwhelmingly positive, with many critics praising Coel and the show's willingness to push boundaries. The show holds an 84/100 score based on 20 reviews on review aggregator Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim". On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 96% with an average score of 7.96/10 based on 46 reviews. The website's critical consensus is, "I May Destroy You is at once brave and delicate, untangling the trauma of sexual assault with dark humor and moments of deep discomfort all held together on the strength of Michaela Coel's undeniable talent."
Writing for The New York Times, critic Mike Hale called the series "touching and quietly hilarious." In her review for Time, critic Judy Berman noted the show's unique and complex telling of a story centered around sexual assault after the Me Too movement.