Dreaming Whilst Black series coming to the BBC
- The BBC has commissioned a series of Dreaming Whilst Black, written by and starring Adjani Salmon as an aspiring filmmaker
- Five more episodes of the sitcom, which touches on racial prejudice in the screen industry, will shoot in London this summer
- Dreaming Whilst Black began as a YouTube series before landing a television pilot last year
Dreaming Whilst Black has been picked up for a series by the BBC, British Comedy Guide can exclusively reveal.
Five more episodes of the sitcom, which is written by and stars Adjani Salmon as aspiring filmmaker Kwabena, toiling in recruitment and struggling against racial prejudice as he strives to make it in the screen industry, will shoot in London this summer.
Last month, Salmon told the No Shame In My Name podcast that the series was "coming soon" and would air this year.
Sebastian Thiel (Just A Couple) returns to direct the comedy, which began as a web series on YouTube in 2018 before becoming a television pilot on BBC Three last year.
The news comes as Salmon took home an emerging talent BAFTA last night for the pilot, which was co-written with Ali Hughes and also featured Dani Moseley, Vanessa Babirye, Rachel Adedeji, Demmy Ladipo, Meghan Treadway, Alexander Owen, Will Hislop, Tom Stourton, Tom Byrne and Toby Williams.
Salmon, who is currently appearing in Channel 4's #MeToo comedy Chivalry alongside creators Steve Coogan and Sarah Solemani, used his Bafta win to petition television bosses to look beyond traditional scouting grounds for comedy by searching online for future stars.
"Being that I'm here with loads of commissioners and execs and production companies and all of that stuff, guys, honestly the next big star might be on YouTube" he said. "They might have like a thousand views but they're great and they're the next big thing I promise you. We can't all afford to go to Edinburgh you know."
Reviews for the Dreaming Whilst Black pilot were strong, with The Times praising its "biting comic brilliance" and "Kwabena's stoicism in the face of professional micro-aggressions". The Metro hailed its "brilliantly sharp wit", while noting that "the topics will undoubtedly resonate with viewers who have experienced similar situations, while providing an eye-opening watch for others".
The British-Jamaican Salmon has also just written and directed the short film Mai Jeroum or My Jerome, about a mother, faced with overwhelming evidence of her son's guilt in a violent crime, but determined to cling onto her belief in his innocence, starring The Outlaws' Clare Perkins and Gary Beadle (The Comic Strip Presents).
A BBC spokesperson declined to comment to British Comedy Guide on the series' commission.