(The Root) — When it comes to racial diversity on television, American and British networks have considerable work to do. But the tides may be changing with BBC3's new comedy TV series Some Girl, starring Adelayo Adedayo. She plays Viva, 16, who's focused on going on to study at a university. She's one of an eccentric lot of inner-city teenage girls who play soccer, talk boys, sex and life and sort through the impulses of adolescence.
"Some girls, you take one look at them and think you know all about them. Right? Well, look again," says Viva, in a voiceover during the show's title sequence. "I mean, just because we live in an estate, we aren't all single mums with drug problems. Though, obviously, some of us are."
The comedy, which premiered Nov. 6, may seem like a teen-version cross between HBO's Girls and Issa Rae's Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl in the way it looks at young women's issues. The show features a multicultural cast including Viva's frenetic friend Holli (Natasha Jonas), who is probably not one to be messed with. Plus, there's sharp wit from Saz (Mandeep Dhillon) and Amber (Alice Felgate), who make up a quartet of friends. Viva lives with her dad, Rob (Colin Salmon), and her stepmom (Dolly Wells), a Kiwi who's also her strict P.E. teacher. Behind the bickering, bantering and classic British humor, is the oft-overlooked tale of a black teenage girl coming of age in the UK.
Check out episode one of the series below and visit YouTube to watch full episodes of the series, and read more about the comedy on IndieWire's Shadow and Act. Also, stay tuned for details on when Some Girls will land Stateside on BBCAmerica.
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