1. Michaela Coel — showrunner, director, writer, and star of the show — wrote 191 drafts of I May Destroy You.
2. I May Destroy You is a fictionalized version of Michaela's own assault.
3. Writing the show was difficult for Michaela, who said that she was most likely already dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. However, her show provided an opportunity to explore consent.
4. There was a therapist on the set at all times.
5. Originally, Netflix offered Michaela $1 million for her show, but she would not be allowed to retain any copyright percentage. She attempted to bargain for at least 5% but was shot down.
6. In the end, BBC offered her full creative control.
7. When Michaela saw Weruche Opia's audition tape to play Terry, she immediately thought, That's her!
8. Weruche recalls going through three rounds of auditions to play Terry but walking out of the first audition feeling as if she'd come back from "a really great first date."
9. Weruche and Michaela eventually became best friends while filming the show.
10. Michaela was inspired by Netflix's Russian Doll, a show that also deals with repeating trauma, which led to her reaching out to Natasha Lyonne over social media.
11. She was also inspired by Jordan Peele's Us and Issa Rae's Insecure.
12. The series title was born two years after Michaela was commissioned to write the show.
13. There was an intimacy coordinator on the set (Ita O’Brien) who always made sure it was a respectful environment.
14. If Ita's name sounds familiar, it's probably because she also did intimacy coordination for Sex Education and Normal People.
15. Weruche says that she had a body double for her intimate scenes because she prefers not to do it.
16. Paapa Essiedu (Kwame) said that his character was originally written as someone "bigger and louder," but he and Michaela collaborated on creating the Kwame we see in the show.
17. Paapa agrees that the final version of Kwame he portrays is the more interesting version.
18. Paapa and Michaela met and became friends at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.
19. When Weruche first read the script, she knew it was going to be a special project.
20. Weruche had to google what an MDMA high was like in order to sell her getting high in one of the scenes in the show.
21. I May Destroy You touches on many different kinds of consent. Before filming, Weruche had no idea that taking off a condom is classified as sexual assault, continuing on to say that she believes a lot of people might not have known that as well.
22. The period scene meant a lot to Michaela because the subject is still so taboo, and we never see anything like it on TV.
23. Michaela's costume designer for I May Destroy You (Lynsey Moore) also did her show Chewing Gum and is the only costumer designer Michaela has worked with.
24. Michaela confirmed that Bella's cardigan is intentionally symbolic.
25. Michaela improvised the shot glass song in Episode 3.
26. Even though the flashback sex scene in Episode 6 might appear seamless, it actually took many start and stops as well as intricate choreography.
27. Arabella's pink wig in the first episodes was intentionally selected so as not to suit her face or skin color, and as the series progresses, we see the wig deteriorate.
28. Arabella's costume choices were selected with '90s inspiration but were pulled together to feel timeless.
29. Kwame's costume choice of wearing faux fur became an accidental motif, representing playfulness as well as a security blanket.
30. Finally, Michaela thinks that she might work on something a little less personal for her next project.
