According to Deadline, Supacell, a Netflix superhero series, has recruited 61st Street alum Tosin Cole as its star. Rapman (real name: Andrew Onwabolu) produced a series centred on a group of six Black characters with extraordinary abilities in 1980s South London. Cole will portray Michael Lasaki, the main protagonist. Michael is a “van driver, an everyday working man who is passionately in love” with Dionne, played by Adelayo Adedayo, according to Rapman. Next week, production for the series will get underway in South London. Rapman will direct all six episodes and act as showrunner; Sebastian Thiel, director of Dreaming Whilst Black, will direct three.
Characters in Rapman’s works are “regular individuals” who “dress in regular clothing and mature through time,” as he puts it. In his own words, “Put it this way: we’ve got all the abilities you can get in Marvel, and they come to South London.” But, as Rapman emphasised, Supacell will be unlike any other superhero drama we’ve seen before. When it comes to Marvel and DC, I always know how the tale ends, but with our programme, where the superpowers are actually real, you never know what’s going to happen.
They all have heroic qualities, but they aren’t perfect. The rest of the cast includes Josh Tedeku as Tazer, Rayxia Ojo as Sharleen, Giacomo Mancini as Spud, and Nadine Mills as Sabrina in addition to Cole and Adedayo. The streamer appears to be taking another stab at the superhero genre after the popularity of the adaption of The Umbrella Academy. The new shows are a part of Netflix’s initiative to promote its Netflix UK service. Anna Ferguson and Steve Searle of Netflix are executives producing alongside Rapman.
Sheila Nortley will be the Block2 producer and associate producer, while Mark Hedges will be the series producer. Also serving in an executive capacity are New Wave’s Mouktar Mohammed and Henrietta Lee. Co-producing with Geraldine Hawkins. The streamer has not yet announced a release window for Supacell.
Synopsis
Unexpectedly, a group of regular folks from South London suddenly acquire extraordinary abilities, and the only common denominator they have is that they are all individuals of African descent. As they adjust to their new normal, one guy must rally them to help him safeguard the woman he cares about from the strong and villainous agents who have uncovered their talents.