The 8-part love story promises to be a potent insight into race and masculinity.
Today the BBC has announced Open Water, a new 8-part drama based on the award-winning debut novel by Caleb Azumah Nelson.
Open Water follows Marcus, who works in retail while trying to develop a career as a photographer and Effie who is studying dance at university in Dublin.
From the moment they meet, they feel an immediate, undeniable connection. But, as Marcus soon learns, Effie is in a relationship with Marcus’ friend Samuel. It’s a boundary that Marcus is unwilling to cross.
A shared project, photographing and documenting Black creatives in London, draws them into each other’s orbit, but can their burgeoning friendship resist the pull of desire?
They seem destined for each other, their crush evolving into a love that is ocean-deep. But love is never enough, and their path towards one another is treacherous. Will they sink or swim in open water?
Speaking about today's news, Caleb Azumah Nelson said "It’s been an absolute joy working alongside Mam Tor, B-Side and the BBC to adapt Open Water for the screen. I can’t wait for viewers not only to meet Marcus and Effie but to step into their world: their private, intimate spaces, their communities, their desires. I’m incredibly grateful to be telling this story at this time."
To which Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, added "Open Water is a tender, bold and dazzling story about the dance of early love and being seen for who you really are. The response to Caleb's book was phenomenal, and we feel privileged to be working with him to bring this breathtaking romance to the BBC."
Produced by Mam Tor Productions (a Banijay UK company) and B-Side Productions, Caleb Azumah Nelson will serve as the drama’s lead writer, director and executive producer alongside Tally Garner for Mam Tor Productions, Matimba Kabalika for B-Side Productions, and Rebecca Ferguson and Danielle Scott-Haughton for the BBC.
Speaking about Open Water, executive producer Tally Garner said "The incredible Caleb Azumah Nelson’s Open Water is the most profound and vital love story, and I am overjoyed to be bringing his beautiful and distinctive vision to the screen with Lindsay Salt, Rebecca Ferguson and Danielle Scott-Haughton at the BBC, and Matimba Kabalika at B-Side who are the perfect partners."
To which fellow executive producer Matimba Kabalika added "Open Water is such a beautiful ode to love, youth, and joys big and small, as well as an honest exploration of the journey of finding your way in love and life. I’m thrilled to be working on it with Caleb Azumah Nelson, Tally Garner at Mam Tor and the brilliant team at the BBC. We cannot wait to bring this story to life."
Open Water will air on BBC One
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