[This story contains spoilers from season one of Supacell.]
Supacell is, in many ways, a love letter to drama, sci-fi, Black talent and south London — but it is not a superhero story.
That’s what its showrunner, Rapman, wants fans to know. The six-part series has stormed into Netflix‘s most-watched programs this month and currently sits in the top spot on its global television list, having accrued nearly 12 million views.
Rapman — or “Raps” as he says he’s known among friends and colleagues — is a quadruple threat. The Briton, whose real name is Andrew Onwubolu, is a rapper, record producer, screenwriter and director. Finding fame on YouTube through the medium of rap, the 35-year-old made his writing and directorial debut with the 2019 feature Blue Story, a musical crime drama that earned international distribution through Paramount. Around that same time, Rapman began concocting a piece of television that asked the question: “What if there was a sci-fi where people are from my background and act like me, but they’ve got powers?”
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And thus, Supacell was born. The show follows the lives of five seemingly ordinary people living in south London who soon find their lives upturned by extraordinary abilities they possess. Delivery driver Michael, played by Tosin Cole, discovers he can teleport, freeze time and travel through time. He is transported to the future where an older version of himself explains that, unless he is able to unite the group and defeat the ominous hooded figures hunting the squad down, his fiancée Dionne (Adelayo Adedayo) is going to die. Ray, played by veteran actor Eddie Marsan, is revealed to have sent the figures as part of a wider, more sinister scheme whereby Black people with powers are captured and — if they attempt to escape, as one of the character’s own mother did — are killed.
Michael begins a frantic search for the others. The rest of the cast includes Nadine Mills as Sabrina, a nurse who goes to great lengths to protect her sister while finding out she has telekinesis and can fly; and Josh Tedeku as Tazer, a troubled young gang leader balancing an escalating rivalry against a villainous kingpin while caring for his elderly grandmother, all while harnessing the power of invisibility. Calvin Demba plays Rodney, a cockney-accented weed dealer — responsible for much of the show’s comic relief — who acquires super speed; and Eric Kofi-Abrefa plays Andre, an ex-con hiding his newly found super strength from his teenage son, with whom he is attempting to rebuild a relationship.
It later transpires that they are all connected by a single trait: a parent with sickle cell disease, the inherited blood disorder that inhibits the ability of hemoglobin in red blood cells to carry oxygen. The lifelong illness blocks blood flow and can lead to complications including stroke, infections and episodes of severe pain called crises. Sickle cell disease disproportionately affects people of African or Caribbean heritage.
In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, the mastermind behind it all, Rapman, discusses why this Black-led show is a “game-changer” for the industry, turning sickle cell into a superpower and what fans can expect from a yet-to-be-confirmed season two.
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This is a Black-led superhero story set against the backdrop of south London. Is Supacell the first of its kind?
I think so. You have people that compare it to Misfits or Heroes, or some even say Gen V. But I think the fact that it’s set in south London, has a predominantly Black cast and is more grounded than the rest of them, I think it’s one-of-a-kind. We’re in a genre that’s been done a million times over, but I feel like this just feels fresh. It feels new. And I think that’s the reason why the word of mouth on it is so strong, because you don’t spread the word on something that you’ve seen a million times. Supacell is like you think you’re coming to watch a superhero show but it’s so grounded and so gritty. I think that’s what makes it special.
When did Supacell come to fruition for you? How far back does this idea go?
The first time I ever spoke about it was actually on camera. I’ve got it on some of my Instagram pages. We were doing a BBC promotion for my movie, Blue Story, and one of the cast members asked me, “What are you going to do next? Are you always going to tell the same type of stories?” I said I’d always talk about real characters, but I’ve always thought about: what if there was a sci-fi where people are from my background and act like me, but they’ve got powers? What would it really be like if a normal person gets powers? Because most people’s first instinct is not to get spandex and a cape.
I wanted to do a show where you see real-life decisions made with these powers. And that started in 2019. I started creating it in 2020 and then lockdown… I’d be doing it between nine to five, because I was working on a movie at that time with Russell Crowe called American Son. So [with] Hollywood studios, they would wake up about five o’clock, and then I’d be able to call them for hours about the film. But I had nothing to do between nine to five [in the U.K.], so I started just creating. And then next thing I know, here we are. Four years later, it took a long time.
And how have you found the reception to the show? Beyond your wildest dreams or more, “No, this is exactly the attention it should be getting!“
This is what I hoped for, and this is what I always told my cast: “It’s gonna do really well.” But I think the love is exceeding expectations. The love is exceeding expectations in how people connect with it in general, with the subjects at hand [like] the sickle cell.
What were you trying to do differently with this show within the saturated superhero genre?
Well the first thing, I didn’t call it a superhero show. That never was how I described it. It came out in the media like that, when it got announced, and people ran with it. So because I wasn’t trying to call them superheroes, it already took me down a different route. They’re all flawed individuals, all pretty selfish, nice people. But they are human beings and human beings tend to be selfish. They tend to think about themselves first. And I wanted it to be that.
The reaction when people get their powers is much more natural. I wasn’t aiming for a superhero show. This was a drama sci-fi, rather than a sci-fi drama. If there was no powers, you’d still be entertained. The powers is like a little caveat that is just there. We never focused on the powers as much as we focused on the people. And I think it’s more of a character-driven show.
The backlog of inspiration for this genre — drama, sci-fi, superpowers — is extensive. Were there any clichés that you were trying to avoid along the way?
Not really because my thoughts of the superhero, sci-fi drama is always going to be in the back of my head. I didn’t try to aim to avoid anything that’s been done. I wasn’t trying to not replicate anything that’s been done. I just put out a story that was unique to me.
There’s some things I deliberately had in there that I knew would be familiar — someone saving someone — even though it’s not your traditional saving the world, he’s trying to save his woman. The big battle at the end, that was probably a traditional route. But those are things I like. I like a big battle at the end. That’s what I always want to see: good guys have got powers and bad guys have got powers.
I just wanted to see a show that I wanted to see, in that genre, but with people who look and talk and go through the same things that I went through growing up in south London.
Whereabouts in south London did you grow up?
I grew up in Lewisham, so I’m from Deptford. I moved around the whole of Lewisham, which is in southeast London. I went to primary school there, got my first job around there. So it’s a big part of me. My mum used to send me — that opening scene where you see Dionne walking, and Michael pretending like he doesn’t know Dionne when he’s trying to chat her up, it’s just a little role-playing between a couple — but that high street is a high street I would have to walk down every day to go buy my mum milk, eggs and rice. So just to come back and shoot my TV show there… It’s kind of nostalgic for me.
This show is so south London. For some Netflix viewers, this world will be completely alien to them (non-Brits are encouraged to watch with the subtitles on). Could Supacell have been set anywhere other than south London or is the setting its own character?
We do call it, like, the seventh character. Yeah, you could put Supacell somewhere else. No doubt. We could do season two in the States, because sickle cell is everywhere. But the south London energy is unmatched. I’ve had people from the States say they want to come to south London. They want to come party in south London now. And that’s the south London that I remember, that energy you see in Supacell.
Normally, these shows are always set in New York City or a fictional city. I’m like, “But London’s popping!” Why is it always New York? We might be smaller, but the streets and the energy of London is crazy. So I think it was the perfect way to start the story. Will Supacell go to other cities, other countries — probably. But I’ve never seen a show so south London: the busses, the music on the streets, just the whole culture of it. And I’m born and bred from south London, so it just made sense to show the city that I know so well.
And the characters cover such a spectrum of life as a Black person in south London. There’s gang violence, a weed dealer, but there’s also the middle-class comfort of a delivery driver and a nurse. What kind of social commentary is Supacell making, if any?
I think it’s a Black cast show, but I wouldn’t call it a Black show. I think anybody can watch it, and you can enjoy if you like good characters. What I did want to put in there was just the Black experience. As a Black Brit living in London, how we are perceived, the conversations we have in our front rooms, how we feel that we’re being seen in our workplaces, how we feel that we’re being seen in society in general.
How important do you think it is that a Black-led show of this kind, in south London, gets representation on such a global stage like Netflix?
I think it’s a game changer. Raising awareness of all the subjects in the show, not even just sickle cell, it’s showing ethnic minorities can have a high-end show that can do well. Because they always see an all-Black cast as a risk. Especially in the United Kingdom, where if you want to go by statistics, Black people are only 3 percent [of the population], you know? So to do a show that cost probably more than average is a risky move, right? But no, we are currently number one, globally, on Netflix. The highest-viewed show on Netflix right now. So it shows there is an audience, because I didn’t water the show down. I didn’t water down the language. I didn’t water down the slang. I literally made it as gritty, as authentic south London as possible, so you can educate yourself on the culture in south London.
Who knows? Apple might look at this and think: “We want one like that.” Amazon might want another one like that. This will open more doors for not just Black people, but ethnic minorities that normally get one role in the cast of basically [all] white people. We might see an Asian family next. We might see all different things. I think everyone wants to see themselves represented on screen in a certain way after a while, just to feel seen. In the U.K., in the sci-fi genre, we are missing quite a lot. It’s not really the journey that you think of for the Black community, especially outside of Marvel and D.C.
And let’s talk about sickle cell. It’s such a creative way to highlight a real disease that people are living with every single day. Where did this decision come from?
When I was started doing Supacell, George Floyd just got murdered [in May 2020]. It was a massive deal for the whole world, but the Black community in particular, across the world. It just felt like it’s one too much now. You saw the people going down to Trafalgar Square [in central London], picketing, and the fighting back in the States. And I was just like, “What can I do to make something to help uplift the Black community at a time we feel so low and we just feel so unvaluable?” And I remember thinking, “Okay, I’m going to do this TV show.” And at the time, I didn’t have any idea that TV takes a million years. I actually thought Supacell would be out within a year. I needed something to empower where the superpowers came from for these five [characters].
I never understood how there’s a disease that mainly affects dark skin. It didn’t make any sense to me, like color is just darker or lighter, why does it mean if I’m darker, I am now a victim or a target of this disease more than anybody else? I didn’t understand it. So I said, you know what? If there’s something that makes dark skin weak, why don’t you spin it on its head and there’s something that makes dark skin strong, makes them super. So I thought this would be great for the origin of their power. And on top of that, I can walk into a room and ask 10 people what sickle cell is and if three people put their hands up, you’ve got a good room. Most people have never heard of it. I know people that suffer with it. So this could help raise awareness, start the conversation, make them feel seen. People have been living with this disease their whole life. They will feel seen. They will feel strong. You have to suffer with it, but your child would be extraordinary — it’s not real, but it sounds good. It makes you feel good. It opens a conversation. It will get people living with this their time in the limelight, to really talk about their struggles with it. It’s been really emotional. I get so many messages every day — young kids, older adults — just people living with it to say thank you, that conversations are so much easier with friends now who never understood it, people are talking about it in schools now. I just wanted to do something to shed light on a disease that is not talked about enough.
And your cast is amazing. Everyone has such good chemistry. How hard was it to to find your Michael, Sabrina, Taser, Andre, Rodney and Dionne. Did they bring to life what you were envisioning?
I was very particular with who I wanted. I wrote the role [of Rodney] with Calvin Demba in mind. He’s perfect. I just used to see him on TV a lot, he was in a show called Youngers back in the day. I just liked him. And I remember just thinking, “I want this guy to play Rodney.” I didn’t know him. I just wrote in and I went looking for him. I worked with Andre before he played Eric, and I knew he would be perfect for Andre, because I know his capabilities. I know what he’s like.
And then when we looked for Michael, we saw everybody. Honestly, I was looking at tapes for years, it felt like, and then when Tosin came into the room, I just knew. His audition was so smooth. He took directions so quickly. And Adelyao came in, I saw audition tape, I knew straight away that she was the person [for Dionne], but she had to audition as a formality for Netflix and all of that. Their chemistry was just off the charts from the minute they got into the room together.
Nadine was brand new. And we actually cast someone else in the role [of Sabrina] but that person pulled out to do something else. Someone recommended Nadine, and she came into audition, and she’d done the callback after callback in those last two weeks, and she nailed it. And Josh, again, every young actor you could think of in that age group in the U.K. auditioned for that role [of Tazer]. I think he’d easily beaten a couple hundred people. And I never knew Josh before. So shoutout to my casting director, Isabella Odoffin.
We see Dionne and Krazy (played by Ghetts) both die in the finale. But things are never as they seem in this genre. Could either character return?
With me, I will say this: if you start bringing back characters from the dead, where are the stakes? If you know that someone can come back… I’ll tell you that my second favorite TV show of all time is Game of Thrones. The minute I saw Jon Snow come back to life, I love Jon Snow but come on now. Nah, we’re gonna pull this one every time now, every time we lose a character that fans like. So for me, I’m not planning to bring anyone back from the dead. That’s what I will say.
We see such a very different Michael in episode six compared to episode one. That final scene where he pledges to get revenge on who killed Dionne… Is this a different Michael driving the plot forward?
There was a point when Dionne wasn’t gonna die, yeah. Every scene is about them trying to get back to their time, or trying to get off this island. They’re off the island now. They’ve got back to their time. Season two is a whole different world. And I tell people all the time, season one of Supacell was the origin story. It was the prequel. It was my Batman Begins. Season two, God willing we get it, is The Dark Knight. This is where you get to see what really happens.
So you originally went into this thinking Dionne was going to make it out?
My original thought was to keep Dionne alive and for Michael realize the only way to truly save her is if he’s not with her, because her danger only comes from him. I had a scene in the final episode, she’s crying her eyes out — the lies, the deceit, tears are running down her face… He takes a deep breath and he just says to her, “I just don’t feel about you how I used to feel, I don’t think you’re the one for me anymore.” That moment where he lies to save her and she leaves and she’s single, he’s single, he cries, but she’s gonna live. And it was gonna be a nice, romantic ending until Netflix was like, “That’s nice. She’s gotta die.” And this is why I’ll be sad if we don’t get season two, because me getting rid of Dionne, it makes Michael a completely different person. It makes it a completely different story.
That’s what I Iearned from Game of Thrones. When I saw the Red Wedding, I learned that there’s no rules in TV anymore.
Have you had any confirmation on a season two of Supacell?
No confirmation. Let’s just hope people keep spreading the word and we do enough numbers for Netflix to make their decision. But as of now, I cannot confirm anything.
Have you already a plan in mind for what we can expect from season two?
I know the character arc of my lead and the other four. I know what their motivations are, and I know what they’re trying to achieve in season two, but there’s still so much I haven’t got that I need to sit with.
I’m scared to sit down with it and marry it just to get a phone call a week from that [to say it won’t be happening]. It won’t take long once I look into it, because I got all the foundation. It’s just to build on that to make it the best season so far, I just need the nods. And I can’t really say much more than what I’ve told you. I just know it’s what happens to a man that loses the one he cares about the most.
If you could have a Supacell power, which one would it be?
I would want all of Michael’s powers, except for the ability to travel in the future. That’s scary business. I might travel in the future, see someone I love dead like Michael, which I don’t want to see. I might go into the future and see my career in the ground. No matter what I’m doing now, I could be on top of the world but if I went to the future and saw, in two years, I’m going to be in this really dirty, dark place, I can’t come back and concentrate. I don’t want that for myself. I don’t want to know. Just let me get there unexpectedly. If I could travel back in time, maybe, but nah. But I do love the teleportation. And I do love being able to freeze the moment, regroup and then get going again.
Supacell is now streaming on Netflix.
