Dreaming Whilst Black

Lore & Background

The web series of Dreaming Whilst Black began in 2018 after Salmon and Hughes met at the Met Film School along with the rest of the creators. A television series pilot aired on BBC Three in 2021, and it was awarded a BAFTA Craft Award for 'emerging talent: fiction' in 2023 and the Royal Television Society's 2022 Breakthrough Award. The pilot was directed by Sebastian Thiel with producers for Big Deal Films. The full series is produced by Big Deal Films, co-written by Ali Hughes, and produced by Natasha Jatania, Laura Seixas, Max Evans, Chadley Richards, and Salmon.

The first series follows Kwabena's attempts to negotiate the filmmaking sector, his forays into the gig economy, and his developing relationship with Vanessa, a woman he meets at a bus stop. In the second series, Kw

Reader's Guide

Dreaming Whilst Black is significant as a British comedy that satirizes the creative industries' superficial approach to diversity and inclusivity, as noted by critics. The series received a 100% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 17 reviews, with praise for balancing serious points about discrimination, health inequality, and history. The second series received five stars from The Guardian, described as 'masterly'. The series won at the Broadcast Awards in the International Programme category in February 2024 and was nominated for Best Comedy at the 2024 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards. It was also nominated for Scripted Comedy and Adjani Salmon was nominated for Male performance in a comedy programme at the 2024 British Academy Television Awards. The series' legacy includes recognition for emerging talent and its portrayal of the challenges faced by Black filmmakers in the UK.

Did You Know?

• The web series began in 2018 after the creators met at the Met Film School.
• The pilot won a BAFTA Craft Award for 'emerging talent: fiction' in 2022.
• The series is co-produced by A24 and Big Deal Films.
• A second series was commissioned in February 2024 and aired in October 2025.

From Web Series to Broadcast

Dreaming Whilst Black traces its roots to 2018, when Adjani Salmon and Ali Hughes first crossed paths at the Met Film School alongside fellow creators Natasha Jatania, Max Evans, and Laura Seixas. The quartet began life as a webcast, a low-budget experiment that would eventually grow into something far more ambitious. Their television pilot found a home on BBC Three in 2021, directed by Sebastian Thiel with a production team at Big Deal Films that included Gina Lyons, Thomas Stogdon, Dhanny Joshi, and Nicola Gregory. The pilot's impact was immediate: it collected the BAFTA Craft Award for emerging talent in fiction in 2022 and the Royal Television Society's Breakthrough Award the same year. Momentum carried the project forward, and the full series—co-produced by A24 and Big Deal Films—premiered on BBC Three on 24 July 2023. A second series was commissioned in February 2024 and reached viewers in October 2025, cementing what had begun as a student project into a sustained broadcast comedy with international distribution.

Kwabena's World: Story and Characters

At the heart of the series is Kwabena, played by Adjani Salmon, a recruitment worker nursing a secret ambition to break into filmmaking. His old film-school friend Amy (Dani Moseley), a video producer who has just returned from three years in Nigeria, offers to slip his screenplay Jamaica Road past the development desk at her production company. Kwabena shares a flat with his cousin Maurice (Demmy Ladipo) and Maurice's heavily pregnant wife Funmi (Rachel Adedeji), who spend their evenings poring over hypnobirthing guides. The first series tracks Kwabena's awkward forays into the gig economy, his tentative romance with Vanessa (Babirye Bukilwa), a woman he happens to meet at a bus stop, and Amy's own frustrations at being overlooked for promotion while absorbing clumsy remarks from colleagues. By the second series, Kwabena lands his first directing assignment on a television production called Sin and Subterfuge, juggling the demands of actors, crew, and executive producers while Maurice and Funmi welcome their baby and Amy's sister moves in.

Critical Acclaim and Industry Honours

Critics responded with near-universal enthusiasm. Rotten Tomatoes reported a perfect 100 percent approval rating drawn from seventeen reviews. Michael Hogan of The Daily Telegraph singled out the show's blend of humour and heart, noting how it handles serious themes of discrimination, health inequality, and history with confidence. Dan Einav in The Financial Times highlighted the sharp satire aimed at the creative industries' hollow use of terms like diversity and inclusivity, while calling Salmon a natural and charming leading man. The Guardian awarded the second season five stars, describing the series as masterly. Industry recognition followed swiftly: Salmon was shortlisted for the BAFTA Breakthrough Award in late 2023, the show won the International Programme prize at the 2024 Broadcast Awards, and it earned nominations at the 2024 BAFTAs and the 2024 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards. By 2026, Salmon and co-writer Ali Hughes had received a joint writing nomination at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards, alongside a comedy performance nod for Salmon and a best comedy drama nomination for the series itself.

Creative Team and Production Structure

The writing room behind Dreaming Whilst Black is a tight collective. Ali Hughes co-wrote the series alongside the four original creators—Salmon, Jatania, Evans, and Seixas—who also serve as producers, joined by Chadley Richards. The production is a partnership between A24 and Big Deal Films, giving the project a distinctive cross-Atlantic footprint. The pilot's production team at Big Deal Films included Gina Lyons, Thomas Stogdon, Dhanny Joshi, and Nicola Gregory, with Sebastian Thiel at the helm as director. The supporting cast is notably rich: Jo Martin plays Kwabena's mother Grace, Jessica Hynes appears as his agent Drew, and Will Hislop portrays his recruitment colleague Lewis. Series one brought in Peter Serafinowicz as Amy's boss Howard and Isy Suttie as the founder of Kwabena's filmmaking programme. Series two expanded the ensemble with Kobna Holdbrook-Smith as the lead actor on Sin and Subterfuge, Lizzy Connolly as the lead actress, and Alexander Theo as Kwabena's assistant director. In the United States, the first series aired on Paramount+ and Showtime in September 2023.