Written, produced and led by Coel, First Day on Earth will follow Henri (Coel), a British novelist in a severe rut. When she is offered a job on a film in Ghana, West Africa sounds like the perfect escape from her dead-end relationship and lack of writing work. What’s more, her estranged father lives in the country, and she’s hoping that she can reconnect with him and her heritage.

When she arrives, nothing goes to plan. Her illusions are shattered by a job and a father that aren’t what they said they were. In Ghana, she must form new friendships and begin to create a new sense of self, which could potentially upend the life she has built in Britain.

The BBC and HBO co-production is made with Various Artists Limited (VAL) in association with A24. First Day on Earth is Coel’s second production with VAL, after I May Destroy You.

Michaela Coel said: “I am delighted to be working with Various Artists Limited, the BBC and HBO again, and to partner with A24; thanks to all of their combined taste, care and expertise, I feel our show is in great hands. The process of creating FDOE thus far has been a beautifully intimate experience, and I am excited to embark on the next phase to eventually offer this as another televisual gift for anyone willing to accompany Henri on what will be a wild odyssey!”

Succession creator Jesse Armstrong, BBC’s Jo McClellan, A24’s Piers Wenger and VAL’s Phil Clarke and Roberto Troni will join Coel as executive producers on the series. Clarke and Troni commented: “We’re delighted and feel extremely lucky that Michaela chose to bring her brilliant new show to us, after the extraordinary experience we had working together on I May Destroy You.

“Yet again, Michaela delivers a highly original, singular story that explores the relationship between England and Ghana via a second generation British-Ghanaian woman who takes up the opportunity to return to the homeland of her parents and finds herself encountering a cast of memorable characters and experiences that force her to face some painful home truths. But as ever with Michaela, it is by turns shocking, funny and unforgettable, and done in her inimitable style.”

Filming for First Day on Earth will begin next year.