Theme
​
Blackie is a UK based, 6 part semi autobiographical cringe comedy, set in the present. A cross between "The Fresh Prince", "Chewing Gum" and "The Inbetweeners", ‘Blackie’ follows Natalie Black, a poor, naive, council estate girl trying to find her place in the world with her crazy group of friends. They're constantly getting into unfortunate situations together, which become even more cringe worthy when Nat is thrust head first into the rich life.
​
Imagine if you will, a young, black woman from a council estate...
​
Now imagine her dressed in tweed, shotgun in hand, bloodhound at her heel.
​
Or surrounded by rich white men discussing yachts, planes, and other rich boys toys - in the Queen's English.
​
Or attending a black tie event at one of England's oldest establishments - a Freemasons club.
​
You can't quite picture it, can you?... Neither could she!
​
Natalie Black, a 20 something, well-spoken black single mum, constantly deals with the daily struggles of being a black woman in a white society. She faces race related issues, class stereotypes; and also faces her own fears of under-achieving. She constantly strives to improve the life of her son by achieving one of her many unrealistic dreams.
With her besties in tow (Mel, a Pakistani law school drop-out, and Layla, a middle-class hippy), Nat needs to focus on her dreams without being disenchanted by people’s narrow minded views of her. All whilst attempting to impress her new man and his family.
​
His mum drives a Volvo.
His Grandad is a mischievous 100-year-old war veteran who still says words like ‘Japs’ and ‘nig nogs’.
And his ex-girlfriend shops at Joules, drives a Range Rover and screams at the staff.
Somehow, Nat needs to find her place in their world without making herself look like an idiot, or God forbid, a hypocrite.
​
Character Breakdown
Natalie Black/Nat/Blackie
(Played by Michaela Coel)
A council estate girl with an etiquette to match, but with a well educated voice and sound general knowledge from many colourful years of life experience.
​
A strong headed woman who thinks she is a leader but is really just bossy, Nat is also a kind hearted empath who hates being in the wrong but struggles to apologise for her behaviour.
​
Meliame Malik/Mel
(Played by Khairun Naid)
A wealthy yet reluctant Muslim and a rebel at heart, who is trying to understand her sexuality and escape the family ‘clutches’. She is a failed fashion student and a designer trainer fanatic.
​
Mel is a street-talking hustler who enjoys the finer things in life, but not neccesarily the type of people who come with them...
​
​
Anton
(Played by Luke Millington-Drake)
A bit of an oaf with a wealthy, eccentric family in tow. Anton is a posh, intelligent dork who likes anything that's a bit 'different', and likes to think of himself as a non-conformist.
​
His peers find him cool, riveting and knowledgeable, but behind the fast cars and successful businesses lies a real softy who, like Nat, just longs to be accepted for being himself.
​
Layla
(Played by Anna Popplewell)
After running away from a stiff, upper class home, Layla renounced her inheritance. Now living with hippies on a canal boat, she’s found her ‘groove’ as a Doula. This weed-smoking, crystal-reading apothecary does all she can to share her new-found spirituality with Nat and her acquaintances, whether they like it or not.