BBC and now, Showtime‘s British comedy show Dreaming Whilst Black has been renewed for second season, Deadline exclusively reports. This show was rated second on Deadline’s Best TV of 2023 list and it has achieved the record of BBC’s highest Black viewer share ratings of all time. The truth behind this show is that it took a long time to upgrade from being a web series to being shown on a TV screen.
According to Deadline, the storyline of Dreaming Whilst Black focuses on Kwabena, portrayed by Adjani Salmon (Chivalry, Doctor Who: Eve of the Daleks, The Perfect Knight), who is an ambitious filmmaker and is stuck in a part-time job to meet ends as he tries to make his dream of directing a TV show come true. The first season’s ending was when Kwabena showed his project to friends and family, but they didn’t enjoy it at all. This series also stars an ensemble cast, including Rachel Adedeji (Champion, The Almond and the Seahorse, Whitsable Pearl), Jessica Hynes (Life After Life, Mood, There She Goes) and Dani Moseley (The Kitchen, Brothers With No Game, Gates).
“The response has been overwhelmingly loving, raucous and humbling,” Salmon stated in an exclusive interview via Deadline. “I’m blessed that we have a chance to entertain da peopledem again.”
Jon Petrie, who is BBC’s comedy boss, agreed, via Deadline: “It’s really important to have a breadth of shows that speak to all audiences. If you’re a license fee payer and you go on the BBC comedy page, you need to see something that relates to you.”
Petrie praised Big Deal and A24, who brought the show on screen for the first time, in a special interview with Deadline.
“We wouldn’t have known them a year or so ago and now we are regularly checking in with them and talking about the sort of talent we are working with,” he added. “We want to develop a show and protect talent so it feels British enough for us and then at the right time have conversations with these partners. I get messages from American producers and commissioners talking about Dreaming or Such Brave Girls all the time, so they have confidence in us.”
According to Deadline, the second season’s international premiere in the U.S. will be shown on Paramount+ (the premium subscription merge with Showtime). In the U.K. screens, this show will be still streaming on BBC Three and IPlayer. The show will continuously be co-produced by A24, who will distribute the show globally, and Big Deal.
Thomas Stogdon (My Life, Coconut,Holier Than Thou) and Dhanny Joshi (My Life, Coconut, HATE) are the executive producers for the first season, so they will return to do the same alongside Salmon. The main producer of the show is Nicola Gregory (Riches, Shepherd, Born Again). The previous web series of the same name was created by Maximilian Evans (Run Rabbit Run, A Life Once Lost,The Car Washer), Natasha Jatania (Arketekton, Numb), Laura de Sousa Seixas (Belonging, Contado por Mulheres, Let There Be Light) and Salmon of 4Quarter Films. The webseries was also co-written by Ali Hughes (A Fistful of Candy, Run Rabbit Run, The Job), and Salmon, via Deadline.