Supacell’s Rapman on how Breaking Bad changed the trajectory of the sci-fi drama
Much like his protagonists, it's been far from a smooth ride for Rapman to get Netflix series Supacell off the ground.
The sci-fi drama follows the lives of five black South Londoners who suddenly develop superpowers. Michael Lasaki (played by Tosin Cole) must assemble them in order to save his beloved fiancée Dionne (Adelayo Adedayo) from an untimely death.
Supacell, which was given the nod from rapper Jay-Z, is currently the most-watched series on the streamer globally. Tipped as a cross between gangster series Top Boy and hit superhero show Misfits, it currently has a perfect critics' score of 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
Rapper, director and now showrunner Rapman - real name Andrew Onwubolu - created the series because he wasn't fully satisfied with the usual superhero tropes. "If I got powers, my first thing wouldn’t be to go and buy a spandex outfit," he previously told Deadline. “I was thinking ‘What can I use my powers for to put my family in a better position?'"
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And now, in a new Deadline interview, the 35-year-old revealed the setbacks he faced while attempting the bring Supacell to life. It all began in 2020 - a chaotic year for the whole world with the Coronavirus pandemic - when he decided to get work on the series underway.
After piquing Netflix's interest in the project, he spent six months writing drafts to firm up the first half of the show, with the help of a writers' room for the final few stages. Despite his hard work, Rapman was rejected, being told the bosses 'felt that it wasn’t the show I’d originally pitched'.
He told Deadline: "They’re very blunt at Netflix and I feel like they needed to be and they’re like, look man, we believe in you still, but this ain't it, basically.”
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He was encouraged to redevelop the show from scratch - and told it would take around five years to do. Rapman shot back: “I told them, I need a week. Just give me a week and then you can talk to me about coming from scratch and five years later, just give me a week."
Next, he sat down and watched 'all the shows that inspired me' - which included The Wire, Breaking Bad, and films like Goodfellas. Something clicked during the Breaking Bad re-watch, as he told Deadline: “What’s clear about Breaking Bad? We know it’s about a guy who becomes a massive drug dealer to save the family.
"But if you actually watch season one, it actually ends with him getting his first customer. And it just made me think, you know what? I need to take this [Supacell] all the way back.”
He then spent another nine months, writing until his 'fingers bled', starting over. He perfected the first couple of episodes - this time, alone. Within days, Netflix had commissioned it. And the rest is history.
Supacell's nail-biting finale certainly paves the way for a second season, with protagonist Michael vowing to travel to the future and get revenge on those who've wronged him. But Netflix is yet to confirm whether another instalment is on the way.
Rapman previously told the Radio Times: "For the beginning of the show, I always tell everyone that season one of Supacell to me is like Batman Begins. It's just beginning. You've got to see where it goes next to see who these people really are."
Supacell is available to stream now on Netflix.