Dreaming Whilst Black creator: 'Our stories tend to be told by others'
"There’s definitely a shift happening now for us Black producers."
If you tuned into the 2021 pilot episode of Dreaming Whilst Black, you'll know it's never quite plain-sailing for lead character Kwabena (played by Adjani Salmon) as he navigates his recruitment job but really dreams of life as a film-maker.
It's part of the humour of the series, and in the first UK co-production with A24, the new six-parter continues on in the same vein, exploring Kwabena's hopes and dreams while also navigating the ups and downs of life in London.
As well as being delightfully hilarious, the series also tackles some more prevalent issues in the Black British community, as well as highlighting what can happen when you're starting off in the TV industry.
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One particular moment comes in the third episode, The Friends, when Kwabena meets big-time producer Timothy (Angus Wright) in the hopes of getting help on his upcoming film, Jamaica Road. Minor spoiler alert: it doesn't go according to plan.
When chatting to RadioTimes.com about including a storyline that reflects some of the inequalities that can come in the industry, Salmon said: “More so, we wanted to speak to the fact that historically, a lot of Black work prior to, what I would say, Black Lives Matter really, was not produced by us and I still think a lot of it is still not."
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He explains: "Obviously, there’s Champion and Riches which is great, there’s definitely a shift happening now for us Black producers. But historically, if you look at Desmond’s, The Real McCoy, The Lenny Henry Show, The Crouches, a lot of our work, even if they have Black writers, they don’t necessarily have Black producers or execs on it."
Salmon continued: "So, we wanted to just talk about that and the irony of that. That our stories tend to be told – or the money tends to be given to other people to tell our stories, rather than entrusting us to tell our own stories. We wanted to touch on that, but, equally, how the paranoia can block your own blessings as well.”
Salmon admits he's "curious" about how people will receive the show, saying: "I feel like, at risk of sounding cliché, but I feel like Dreaming Whilst Black is different to your usual comedy."
He adds: “There’s a weight of responsibility to really show up and represent your community in a really great way."
The six new episodes see not only Salmon reprise his role as Kwabena, but also welcomes back Dani Moseley (Everything I Know About Love, Straight Line Crazy) as Amy, Demmy Ladipo (The Last Tree, We Are Lady Parts) as Maurice, Rachel Adedeji (Champion, R.I.P.D. 2: Rise of the Damned) as Funmi and babirye bukilwa (We Hunt together, Our Girl) as Vanessa, who all also appeared in the 2021 pilot.
As per the synopsis, the series is "loosely inspired by real life events" and tells the story of Kwabena, "an aspiring filmmaker stuck in a dead-end recruitment job who takes the first step to achieving his dream. However, he is quickly confronted with the tribulations of balancing finances, love, and his own sense of reality".
Dreaming Whilst Black airs on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer from Monday 24th July 2023 at 10pm. The series will be available in full as a boxset on BBC iPlayer on 24th July.
If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide or visit our Drama hub for more news and features.
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