Dreaming Whilst Black Premiere Recap: An Aspiring Filmmaker Makes the Ultimate Sacrifice — Grade It!
In the British comedy Dreaming Whilst Black, an aspiring filmmaker must balance his creative ambition with the harsh realities of his day job.
When we first meet Kwabena (Adjani Salmon) in the series premiere (which is now streaming via Paramount+ With Showtime; it airs on Showtime proper Sunday, Sept. 10 at 10/9c), he’s already daydreaming on company time. In the dream, he’s running a big production and living the life he truly aspires to. In reality, he’s interviewing a candidate whose English skills are, let’s say, less than perfect. (That comma between “cooking” and “dogs”? Very necessary!)
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He leaves work early to pitch a project at an event called PitchFest. On the bus, he dreams of speaking to an attractive girl he catches eyes with, but can’t muster up the courage to shoot his shot.
After learning all of the pitch slots are filled up, he runs into Amy (Dani Moseley), a friend of his from film school who’s now working as an executive assistant for a production company. After a drink, she reluctantly agrees to pass along his one-pager to her development team.
While on his way to work the next day, Amy says her team wants to meet him. He calls in sick so he can make his pitch, but one of his coworkers notices him as he gets off the bus. The meeting goes well and they want to see him again at 4:30 pm tomorrow (or as Amy drills into him, “white people’s time, 4:30!”).
The next day, his boss confronts him about playing hooky and gives him an official warning. Kwabena panics and asks Amy if they can reschedule. That’s one big “nope!” He imagines leaving work and jumping into a cab, full speed ahead toward his future, but that’s just a daydream, too. He gets a voicemail from Amy later that night and she’s understandably irritated that he missed his appointment. She got him the chance of a lifetime and he sadly fumbled the ball.
At a karaoke shindig with coworkers, Kwabena’s patience runs out and he quits his job. Amy’s words sunk in. If he wants to be a serious filmmaker, he’s going to have to dedicate more of himself to his passion. While waiting for the bus to head home, the woman from before gets off at the stop. When her wig gets caught in the closing bus door, Kwabena jumps into action and retrieves it for her. Her name is Vanessa and she’s thankful for his help. They introduce themselves to each other and when she asks him what he does, he says he’s a filmmaker.
So what did you think of the episode? Grade it below, then sound off in the comments!
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