| Creator: | Rapman |
| Director: | Rapman Sebastian Thiel |
| Theme Music Composer: | Sillkey |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Num Series: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 6 |
| Producer: | Joanna Crow Mark Hedges Sheila Nortley |
| Cinematography: | Sam Heasman Aaron Reid |
| Runtime: | 46-59 minutes |
| Company: | It's a Rap New Wave Energy |
| Network: | Netflix |
| Last Aired: | present |
Supacell is a 2024 British superhero television series, created and written by Rapman for Netflix. It was directed by Rapman and Sebastian Thiel, and premiered with six episodes on 27 June 2024.
Set in modern-day South London, the series is about a group of five ordinary black people, unified by family history of sickle cell disease. They unexpectedly develop superpowers and are pursued by a secret organisation who intends to control them. The series features an ensemble cast including; Tosin Cole, Adelayo Adedayo, Josh Tedeku, Nadine Mills, Eric Kofi-Abrefa, Calvin Demba, Ghetts, Digga D, and Eddie Marsan. The series was a difficult sell to US broadcasters such as HBO, ABC, and FX. Netflix took it on in late 2019, ahead of the release of Rapman's feature-length film debut Blue Story. The development and writing process took place during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and filming took place between July 2022 and April 2023, throughout South East London. The series explores themes such as knife crime, racial profiling, poverty, the exploitation of black bodies, and sickle cell disease.
Supacell received highly positive reviews from critics and audiences for its performances, direction, writing, cinematography, and visual effects, and for raising awareness of sickle cell disease. Upon its release, the series was number one on Netflix's global Top 10, with more than 18 million viewers in its first few weeks on the platform. In August 2024, the series was renewed for a second season.[1]
Five black people from South London (a delivery driver, a gang leader, a nurse, a financially-struggling father, and a Cockney drug dealer) are unified by a family history of sickle cell disease and unexpectedly develop superpowers.[2] They discover each other and fend off entrapment by a secret organisation seeking to control them.[3]
Rapman's plans to write a superhero series were first publicised in November 2019, during the promotion of his first feature-length film Blue Story. When asked by actor Junior Afolabi Salokun, who appeared in both Blue Story and Supacell, about what he would like to write next, Rapman responded with "I want to do a sci-fi one day. I could do something like a Misfits but a bit deeper. Like imagine someone from where we came from [South London] gets powers? Like real powers, like what would man really do with that power?"
The series was a difficult sell to US broadcasters, such as HBO, ABC, and FX, who all rejected it. During a dinner with some UK Netflix executives where Rapman pitched ideas for several shows, such as an untitled football-centric series, Supacell was successfully commissioned. He began writing the series during the COVID-19 pandemic, following the cancellation of his planned second film American Son, a remake of the 2009 French film A Prophet, starring Russell Crowe and Stephan James, for Paramount Pictures, as a result of the pandemic, and in November 2021, the series was announced in November 2021 with Mouktar Mohammed and Henrietta Lee of New Wave as executive producer and associate producer, respectively.[4] Also executive producing are Anna Ferguson and Steve Searle of Netflix with Mark Hedges as series producer.[5] In August 2024, Netflix renewed the series for a second season.[6]
In August 2022, Tosin Cole was announced in the lead role along with a cast that included Adelayo Adedayo, Nadine Mills, Eric Kofi-Abrefa, Calvin Demba, Josh Tedeku, Rayxia Ojo and Giacomo Mancini.[7] It was later revealed that Eddie Marsan had joined the cast as Ray.[8]
Filming took place between 4 July and 10 December 2022 in South and South East London.[9] Filming locations included Thamesmead, Peckham, Bermondsey and Deptford.[10] It was reported that the production was using a specialised Arri 35 camera which has been designed to show Black skin in the best and most complimentary way.[11] [12] Filming had wrapped by April 2023.[13]
The first season of the series was released on Netflix on 27 June 2024.[14] [15]
In August 2024, the series was renewed for a second season.
Leila Latif of The Guardian awarded the first episode four out of five stars, dubbing it "an absolute riot, strikingly performed and bracingly plotted".[16] Aramide Tinubu of Variety praised the series' unique perspective on the genre with its characters and settings, remarking "Supacell considers how individualism has caused fractures in Western societies, specifically in Black communities that previously thrived because of collectivity. The show also reflects on why our dependence on technology undoubtedly comes at a cost".[17]
The series has raised awareness of life with sickle cell disease.[3]