Yahoo News I May Destroy You's Paapa Essiedu and Peaky Blinders' Joe Cole lead cast of ITV's new series
I May Destroy You's Paapa Essiedu and Peaky Blinders' Joe Cole are set to star in a new ITV series of short films inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement.
The show, titled Unsaid Stories, will also feature performances from The Capture actor Adelayo Adedayo, Sherlock's Amanda Abbington, Nicôle Lecky (Death in Paradise), Top Boy's Nicholas Pinnock, Yasmin Monet Prince (Hanna) and Pippa Bennett-Warner – who appeared alongside Essiedu and Cole recently in crime drama Gangs of London.
Related: Did you spot this SUPER creepy detail in I May Destroy You?
Essiedu's instalment, 'Look at Me', centres on Kay and Michael, a young professional couple who are stopped by police on their way to a dinner date. As the short film goes on, it examines how the experience affects them individually and as a unit.
Holby City's Francis Annan is set to direct, working from a script written by Carol Harding (The Last Witness).
Cole's outing, which will be helmed by Noughts + Crosses' Koby Adom, focuses on former lovers Tom and Thea (Adelayo), who bump into one another at a party and start opening up to one another like never before.
The night makes them reassess their failed relationship, how the impact of racism played a part in the break-up and the "challenges they faced being a middle-class black woman and a working-class white bloke."
Related: Peaky Blinders' Joe Cole explains how Gangs of London is different from the BBC series
Other tales see characters attend Black Lives Matter marches, and discuss subjects such as colourism and identity within community.
"For these amazing actors to commit to the series, to work with such great creative talent behind the camera and bring these urgent stories to life in such a short space of time is an incredibly humbling experience," sai producers Nadine Marsh-Edwards and Amanda Jenks.
"We are thrilled to be working with such talented teams and with ITV to bring these films to screen."
I May Destroy You aired on BBC One and is available to watch on BBC iPlayer. Peaky Blinders seasons 1-5 are available on Netflix.
For more information on how you can support Black Lives Matter, please visit its official website or donate here. Readers can also donate to the UK anti-discrimination group Stand Up To Racism, and the Unite Families & Friends Campaign, which supports those affected by deaths in police, prison and psychiatric custody.
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