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Michaela Coel‘s new hit series, I May Destroy You, wasn’t always destined for its home on HBO. Another streaming giant wanted to claim the popular drama, but Coel turned them down. In an interview with Vulture today, the I May Destroy You creator said she declined Netflix‘s $1 million offer for her series.
Coel, who in 2017 began pitching I May Destroy You, was offered the $1 million upfront from Netflix, but she turned down the streamer’s offer to premiere her work when she learned she wouldn’t retain any of the copyright on the series. Her decision to split with Netflix came after a long history with the platform — her previous work, including Chewing Gum, Been So Long, and Black Mirror, all appeared on Netflix.
The I May Destroy You creator tried to bargain with Netflix before turning down the deal outright. Coel tried asking for “a senior-level development executive at Netflix” for just 5% of the rights to her series. “There was just silence on the phone,” Coel recalled. “And she said, ‘It’s not how we do things here. Nobody does that, it’s not a big deal.’ I said, ‘If it’s not a big deal, then I’d really like to have 5 percent of my rights.'”
Coel brought her number down to 2%, then to just 0.5%. The executive she was negotiating with told Coel she’d have to “run it up the chain,” but added, “Michaela? I just want you to know I’m really proud of you. You’re doing the right thing.”
When Coel walked from Netflix, she pitched I May Destroy You to the BBC, and was met with the email reply she’d been waiting for. The BBC granted her both creative control, involvement on the production side, and the rights to her work she’d been bargaining for. HBO, the streaming home for I May Destroy You, joined the project as a co-producer during development.
“I’d been so untrustworthy of the industry that I looked at the email and I thought, I need a day. I wasn’t happy,” she said. “It’s an amazing email.”
I May Destroy You, which premiered on HBO June 7, is based on Coel’s own experience with sexual assault when she was making Chewing Gum, her 2015 comedy series. Since its debut last month, I May Destroy You has been met with an overwhelmingly positive reaction from critics and audiences.
