“Dreaming Whilst Black”, a new BBC comedy “about a man who quits his corporate career to try to cut it as a filmmaker”, is itself the product of creator and star Adjani Salmon’s decision to leave a steady job to pursue his dream, said Dan Einav in the Financial Times. Salmon’s fictional counterpart is British Jamaican Kwabena, who walks out of a job in recruitment in order to work full-time on his film, a Windrush-era drama. Alas, he finds “a dearth of opportunities for someone with no experience, few connections and dark skin”.
Kwabena and his friends come up against a host of “microprejudices”, said Carol Midgley in The Times, but these are “catalogued with wit and a nice light touch”. And the switches between the fantasy life in Kwabena’s head and “disappointing reality” are nicely done.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It’s a confident, funny show that “works as a fable of modern black Britishness and also a tender prayer to the frustrations of the modern creative”, said Barbara Ellen in The Observer. The cast is “pitch perfect”, and if the series ends on a tense note, it is “an unfinished one”, suggesting that more episodes may be on their way. “Yes please.”
Watch on BBC iPlayer
-
A real head scratcher: how scabies returned to the UKThe Explainer The ‘Victorian-era’ condition is on the rise in the UK, and experts aren’t sure why
-
Ukraine, US and Russia: do rare trilateral talks mean peace is possible?Rush to meet signals potential agreement but scepticism of Russian motives remain
-
Syria’s Islamic State problemIn The Spotlight Fragile security in prison camps leads to escape of IS fighters
-
Book reviews: ‘American Reich: A Murder in Orange County; Neo-Nazis; and a New Age of Hate’ and ‘Winter: The Story of a Season’Feature A look at a neo-Nazi murder in California and how winter shaped a Scottish writer
-
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple – ‘a macabre morality tale’The Week Recommends Ralph Fiennes stars in Nia DaCosta’s ‘exciting’ chapter of the zombie horror
-
Bob Weir: The Grateful Dead guitarist who kept the hippie flameFeature The fan favorite died at 78
-
The Voice of Hind Rajab: ‘innovative’ drama-doc hybridThe Week Recommends ‘Wrenching’ film about the killing of a five-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza
-
Off the Scales: ‘meticulously reported’ rise of OzempicThe Week Recommends A ’nuanced’ look at the implications of weight-loss drugs
-
A road trip in the far north of NorwayThe Week Recommends Perfect for bird watchers, history enthusiasts and nature lovers
-
Egg-fried rice recipeThe Week Recommends This tasty dish will serve you well on your Chinese cookery journey
-
6 inviting homes with event spacesFeature Featuring a Vermont compound with an airstrip and Virginia farm with a party barn
