One of the stars of Black Panther delivers an acting masterclass in HBO‘s acclaimed 12-part miniseries that earned a 98% Rotten Tomatoes score. Released in June 2020, this somewhat forgotten HBO original series tells a story of consent, trauma, and recovery through the eyes of its protagonist, Arabella, a London-based social media influencer. Arabella rises to fame after writing a viral book about contemporary culture based on her personal Twitter account and faces her greatest challenge yet after being assaulted during a night out.
HBO’s I May Destroy You Now stars Black Panther star Michaela Coel as Arabella and is one of the streamer’s most critically acclaimed miniseries of all time. Spanning just 12 episodes, each between 28 and 34 minutes long, I May Destroy You Now is also one of the easiest shows on HBO Max to start and finish in just one weekend, or even one night. Due to its short runtime and a masterful lead performance by Coel, who also created, wrote, and co-directed the series, I May Destroy You Now is truly a must-watch series on HBO Max.
Michaela Coel Gives An All-Time Great Performance In I May Destroy You
I May Destroy You Now is a remarkable showcase of Michaela Coel’s talent as both a storyteller and actor, delivering a career-best performance throughout all 12 episodes. Coel was awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series for her work on I May Destroy You Now and was also nominated in the Lead Actress and Directing categories. Although Coel took home the top prize for penning the entire 12-part script, critics and audiences widely applauded her performance as Arabella, which was inspired by Coel’s real-life experience with sexual assault. Coel masterfully captures the depth of her writing and powerfully brings it to life on screen.
I May Destroy You Now’s near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score of 98% is a testament to how extraordinary Coel’s vision for the project is. The Boston Globe writes in their review, “I May Destroy You isn’t just powerful television; it’s a great surprise. It’s a groundbreaking model of how to honor the complexities of sexual trauma on TV without succumbing to lecture or exploitation.” Similarly, Rolling Stone writes, “With uncommon sensitivity, Coel writes each character as a full, flesh-and-blood human exploring and testing all the bounds of that experience.” Even with its heavy subject matter, I May Destroy You Now maintains a consistent sense of dark humor that is elevated by Coel’s performance as the likable yet complex Arabella.
Michaela Coel’s New HBO/BBC Series Deserves Major Hype
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Coel is quietly one of the most reliable creators working in television today, having also written and starred in Chewing Gum, a critically acclaimed 12-part comedy series that earned a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score. She has also made unforgettable appearances in some of the 2020s best streaming series, including but not limited to Mrs. & Mrs. Smith and Black Mirror, as well as recent movies like Mother Mary and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. While Coel is arguably at her best performing her own material, she is undeniably talented across multiple genres and is certainly one of Hollywood’s best working actors under the age of 40.
Coel’s upcoming HBO/BBC series, First Day on Earth, deserves major hype after the success of I May Destroy You, as it will mark the first series she’s written and starred in since her Emmy-winning series was released six years ago. First Day on Earth follows a British novelist named Henri, played by Coel, who travels to Ghana to work on a film job and reconnect with her estranged father. While Henri hopes to identify more deeply with her heritage during her trip, she discovers that nothing is going as she expected, forcing her to confront herself in profound ways. While waiting for First Day on Earth to arrive sometime in 2027, watch one of HBO’s best miniseries, I May Destroy You.
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