Netflix launches its own superhero franchise with Supacell

Five people stand in a dark alley and stare.
Olly Courtney / Netflix

Netflix has released the official trailer for Supacell, a British superhero TV show from showrunner Andrew Onwubolu, who goes by the stage name Rapman.

“There’s people in this world with superpowers,” an ominous voice states in the trailer. Five ordinary people from South London — Michael (Tosin Cole), Sabrina (Nadine Mills), Andre (Eric Kofi Abrefa), Rodney (Calvin Demba), and Tazer (Josh Tedeku) — unexpectedly develop superpowers. Why these specific people develop supernatural abilities is unknown. The only link between the five is that they are all Black.

Because of his time-traveling ability, Michael can go into the future. Unfortunately, Michael learns that the woman he loves, Dionne (Adelayo Adedayo), will die. To save her, he must bring together the other four superhumans. However, the group has to be careful to avoid “the powerful and nefarious agents that have noticed their special abilities.”

Supacell | Official Trailer | Netflix

Additional cast members include Rayxia Ojo, Giacomo Mancini, Yasmin Monet Prince, Michael Salami, Debra Baker, Seosaimhin Hennelly, Haqi Ali, Rendah Beshoori, and Eddie Marsan.

Supacell is written and created by Rapman, who also serves as the lead director. Rapman is best known for writing Blue Story and Shiro’s Story, a trilogy of short films. Rapman is set to direct the thriller American Son, a remake of the French film A Prophet that is set to star Russell Crowe and Stephan James.

Rapman will direct the first, second, and sixth episodes of Supacell. Sebastian Thiel will direct episodes three through five. Rapman executive produces with Anna Ferguson, Steve Searle, and Mouktar Mohammed. 

Supacell streams on June 27 on Netflix.