--- title: "I May Destroy You" year: 2020 kind: "series" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/i-may-destroy-you" fi1m_score: 88 critics_score: 82 critics_reviews: 14 published: "2026-09-17T03:29:53.267619+00:00" updated: "2026-09-17T03:30:08.855755+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # I May Destroy You (2020) Created by Michaela Coel · MPA TV-MA · Drama **Fi1m score: 88** · Critics 82 from 14 reviews *In a sentence:* A cracked phone, a cut forehead, pink hair, and a whole city that would rather she didn’t ask > Michaela Coel writes, co-directs and stars in a drama about a London writer piecing together the night she was drugged and raped. It is as funny as it is frightening, and twelve episodes is two too many. ## Synopsis London, the present. Arabella Essiuedu (Michaela Coel), a writer whose first book grew out of her tweets, owes her publishers Julian (Adam James) and Francine (Natalie Walter) a draft of the second by morning. She has written almost nothing. She goes out for one drink with friends instead, and wakes at her desk with a cut on her forehead, a cracked phone and a flash of memory she cannot place: a toilet cubicle, a man’s face above her. With her closest friends Terry Pratchard (Weruche Opia) and Kwame Acheamong (Paapa Essiedu), she starts trying to recover the night. ## Review Arabella Essiuedu (Michaela Coel) is a London writer with pink hair, a first book that started life as tweets, and a second one she has not written. Her publishers, Julian (Adam James) and Francine (Natalie Walter), want a draft by morning. She goes out instead, for one drink with friends, and wakes at her desk with a cut over her eye, a smashed phone and a picture in her head that will not settle: a toilet cubicle, a man above her. Coel created and wrote *I May Destroy You* and directed it with Sam Miller, and all twelve episodes are Arabella trying to get that night back and deciding what to do with it. That sounds like a grim evening, and often it is. It is also funnier than seems decent, because Coel will not let Arabella stop being Arabella. She is vain, generous, late for everything and quick with her mouth, and what happens to her does not turn her into a symbol. The first episode has been faulted for throwing too many people at us too fast, and it does; we lost track for a while of who was sleeping in whose flat. Then the club scene arrives, Adam Gillham’s camera starts to blur and drift with her, and the editors, five of them credited, Mike Phillips, Christian Sandino-Taylor, Lindsey Woodward, John Dwelly and Guy Bensley, drop a single frame of the cubicle into the morning after like a splinter. Our stomach dropped. We knew before she did. The series’ best decision is to give Arabella two friends written as fully as she is. Terry Pratchard (Weruche Opia) is an actor who pretends her auditions went well and loves Arabella with a fierceness she is not always thanked for. Kwame Acheamong (Paapa Essiedu) is a fitness instructor who runs his sex life through an app and keeps the rest of his life to himself. Opia does something hard: she plays a good friend who is also, in one or two specific ways, a coward, and lets us like her anyway. The three of them on a sofa arguing about nothing is what the whole series is protecting. The scene that got at us most is not the assault. It is the police station, where two officers, Officer Beth (Mariah Gale) and Officer Funmi (Sarah Niles), take Arabella’s statement with a form and a great deal of patience and ask, gently, what she had drunk. Nobody is cruel. What made us angry was the sight of a woman being asked to turn a hole in her memory into evidence, and being kind to the people asking. Coel plays it half-present, still making jokes, and Gale and Niles let the jokes pass without answering them. It looks like the London it is set in rather than the one television usually shows. Paul Cross’s flats are small, shared and full of other people’s washing. Maurizio Basile and Lynsey Moore dress Arabella in loud prints and bright coats, so that she is the most visible person on every street, and the series later has things to say about being looked at. Gillham shoots the nights in hot pink and green and the days in flat, tired grey. Not all twelve episodes earn their keep. The middle stretch spends whole episodes away from Arabella’s night, and while each of them is defensible on its own, together they slow the series to a walk. Coel is arguing that a trauma does not arrive as a single lesson, and she is right, but ten episodes would have made the argument too. Set against *Chewing Gum*, the comedy Coel made before this, it is a bigger and harder thing. The speed is the same, and so is the taste for the excruciating, but the subject cannot be laughed off, and Coel knows exactly when to stop laughing. We were more shaken by it than we expected, and more entertained, often inside the same minute. Watch it one episode at a time rather than in a run. It is built to be sat with, and the last episode, which we will not describe, needs you to have done the sitting. *Fi1m score 88, published 17 September 2026.* ## What the critics say The reviews are close to unanimous: thirteen of fourteen are positive, and most critics treat the series as a considerable achievement rather than a promising one. The praise gathers around Michaela Coel, who writes, directs and stars, and around the way she moves between comedy, sex and horror without the joins showing or the series turning into a lecture. Several critics single out its patient, unsentimental handling of the aftermath of assault, its refusal of clichéd recovery, and the friendships at its centre, with Opia’s performance singled out alongside Coel’s. Reservations are minor and scattered. A few critics find the longer episodes slack in places and the structure occasionally disjointed, though they do not let it dent their verdicts. The spread is narrow; the one mixed notice, from The Times, judges the first episode unfocused, with too many characters arriving too quickly, while still admiring Coel’s performance and the shift from party to horror in its closing minutes. ### Reviews we read (14) - **The Guardian** (95/100, inferred): The critic delivers a rave review of the series as an extraordinary, breathtaking achievement that explores consent, race, and millennial life on every level with no false notes. It singles out the seamless modulation between comedy and tragedy, the richly drawn friendships, and the ideas and character depth throughout. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/jun/08/i-may-destroy-you-review-michaela-coel-could-this-be-the-best-drama-of-the-year) - **Variety**, Caroline Framke (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it a searing triumph and an astonishing work of patience, empathy and understanding. They single out its empathetic depiction of drugging victims and the aftermath of trauma. [Read](https://variety.com/2020/tv/columns/i-may-destroy-you-hbo-review-michaela-coel-1234636764/) - **Vulture** (90/100, inferred): The critic hails the series as confirmation of Coel's stunning talent, lauding its multi-layered exploration of consent, memory, identity, friendship, and the writing life through shifting tones that mix humor, sexiness, and harrowing moments. It singles out Coel's performance for its wild charisma, emotional clarity, and precise depiction of trauma's lingering effects. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2020/06/i-may-destroy-you-review-michaela-coel-hbo.html) - **The AV Club**, Shannon Miller (B+): The critic praises the series as a thorough, honest examination of sexual abuse, exploitation, consent, and the non-monolithic nature of healing, with strong focus on survivors' messy paths and the vital role of friendship. It singles out Coel's writing, directing, acting, and the cast's performances (especially Opia) for blending levity with devastation while noting minor pacing issues in longer episodes. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/i-may-destroy-you-is-a-blessedly-thorough-look-at-sexua-1843844536) - **Radio Times**, Flora Carr (4/5): The critic praises the series as a biting and witty drama that dismantles and rebuilds everything we think we know about casual dating and consent. They single out the brilliantly realistic sex scenes for praise. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/i-may-destroy-you-review/) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Daniel Fienberg (80/100, inferred): The critic describes it as an ambitious showcase for Coel's vital voice, praising its confrontational exploration of consent and reinvention despite some messiness. They single out the honest handling of sexuality and narrative. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/i-may-destroy-you-1297251/) - **The Telegraph**, Anita Singh (4/5): The review praises the series as a hard-hitting yet frequently funny drama about sexual assault that deserves to be seen, highlighting Coel’s exceptional talent in blending trauma with humour and avoiding clichéd aftermath tropes. It singles out the authentic portrayal of how trauma does not erase one’s essence. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2020/06/08/may-destroy-review-hard-hitting-yet-funny-sexual-assault-drama/) - **The Times**, Carol Midgley (★★★☆☆): The critic finds the first episode unfocused and scattered with too many characters introduced too quickly, though the final minutes effectively capture the shift from partying to horror. It singles out Coel’s strong performance and the important themes despite the need for tighter editing. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/i-may-destroy-you-review-no-limits-as-millennial-partying-turns-to-horror-h0cm5k9p7) - **Digital Spy**, Abby Robinson (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the series vital and essential viewing, praising its nuanced, confronting exploration of consent in all forms, diverse survivor experiences (including Black and LGBTQ+ perspectives), and the debunking of victim stereotypes. It singles out Coel's bravery in drawing from personal experience and centering authentic Black British stories with care and resources. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a32792241/i-may-destroy-you-review/) - **Paste**, Allison Keene (8.5/10): The critic describes it as a difficult but important series exploring rape, consent, and healing through a Black millennial perspective in London. They single out the nuanced handling of trauma and self-care alongside its ambitious, thought-provoking narrative. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/i-may-destroy-you/i-may-destroy-you-review) - **Collider**, Allie Gemmill (B+): The review calls it a timely and necessary show that unflinchingly captures the messy recovery from sexual assault with honest performances and unique voice. It notes some disjointed structure but overall deems it a must-watch for its fearless commentary. [Read](https://collider.com/i-may-destroy-you-michaela-coel-review/) - **Den of Geek**, Louisa Mellor (4/5): The critic praises the fluent, dynamic balance of trauma, pain, comedy, romance, and questions around consent without lecturing, achieved through strong character focus and naturalistic observations on identity, race, class, and sexuality. It singles out Coel's performance and the central trio's charisma for making the series entertaining yet affecting. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/i-may-destroy-you-review-fresh-frank-fluent-drama/) - **NME**, Ella Kemp (4/5): The critic praises the series as a vibrant and intense London-set drama that cleverly handles themes of trauma and memory through fragmented storytelling. They highlight Coel's brilliant performance and the show's witty yet sensitive tone as standout elements. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/i-may-destroy-you-review-michaela-coel-2682740) - **The Ringer**, Alison Herman (80/100, inferred): The series marks a strong evolution for creator Michaela Coel, delivering a dark yet funny and affecting portrait of trauma and recovery that blends sharp humor with unflinching social commentary. It stands out for its nuanced exploration of overlapping issues like race, class, and sexuality alongside the aftermath of assault, maintaining a realistic tone that avoids easy resolutions. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2020/06/09/tv/michael-coel-i-may-destroy-you-hbo) ## Details - **Created by:** Michaela Coel - **Creator:** Michaela Coel - **Director:** Sam Miller, Michaela Coel - **Writer:** Michaela Coel - **Cinematography:** Adam Gillham - **Editor:** Christian Sandino-Taylor, Lindsey Woodward, John Dwelly, Mike Phillips, Guy Bensley - **Production design:** Paul Cross - **Costume design:** Lynsey Moore, Maurizio Basile - **Producer:** Simon Meyers, Simon Maloney - **Cast:** Michaela Coel as Arabella Essiuedu; Weruche Opia as Terry Pratchard; Lara Rossi as Kat; Ann Akinjirin as Alissa; Marouane Zotti as Biagio; Mariah Gale as Officer Beth; Sarah Niles as Officer Funmi; Natalie Walter as Francine - **Certificate (MPA):** TV-MA - **Release (the US):** 7 June 2020 - **Genres:** Drama - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qznkRYA_y5M ## Where to watch in the US - HBO Max: streaming - The Roku Channel: add-on, hd - Hulu: add-on, hd - Amazon Prime Video: add-on - Apple TV: buy, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy, hd *Checked 2026-09-17.* Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, HR, HU, ID, IL, IS, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TH, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Chewing Gum* (2015): Coel’s earlier comedy, same speed and nerve, with the stakes turned right down - *Fleabag* (2016), Fi1m 90: Another London woman telling jokes to keep something worse from getting in — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/fleabag.md) - *The Tale* (2018): Jennifer Fox interrogates her own memory of childhood abuse, scene by scene - *Top of the Lake* (2013): Jane Campion’s New Zealand mystery about a town that would rather not know - *Elle* (2016): Verhoeven’s French provocation about a woman who refuses the victim’s script entirely --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/i-may-destroy-you