‘Black Ops’: Creators Of BBC Comedy-Thriller Say Black British Culture Is “Reaching A Sweet Spot”
deadline.comEXCLUSIVE: Black British culture is reaching a “sweet spot” and creatives no longer have to move to the U.S.
to achieve stardom, according to the creators of BBC comedy-thriller Black Ops. Speaking exclusively to Deadline as BBC Studios shops the showat the London TV Screenings, creator and producer Akemnji Ndifornyen said cultural touchstones such as Netflix’s Top Boy are “accessible to our American cousins like never before.” “Black British culture is reaching this really sweet spot,” said Ndifornyen, who played Mr Fergusson in Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit. “[Americans] now understand that we’re not just ‘tea and crumpets’ but can really subvert their expectations.” Alongside fellow Black Ops creator Gbemisola Ikumelo and star Hammed Animashaun, Ndifornyen branded the “one in, one out” Black talent experience in UK TV a thing of the past, partly because “we can go to the U.S.
and come back with a bit of cache” and also the influence of the BBC, which he praised for setting “the gold standard.” “Race has become incidental in lots of drama,” he added.
Ndifornyen cited examples such as Michaela Coel, who followed up critically acclaimed E4 comedy Chewing Gum with BBC/HBO smash I May Destroy You, and Daniel Lawrence Taylor, who created ITV2’s Timewasters and is now making BBC Three drama Boarders.
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