Pencil Pushing with Adjani Salmon: 'Dreaming Whilst Black' for The Culture Crypt Issue V

Following the Season 2 television debut of BBC and A24's Dreaming Whilst Black, we dial in for a chat with Adjani Salmon, the mastermind behind it all, and proudly, The Culture Crypt's digital cover star.

The Culture Crypt Digitial Issue V: The Dreaming Whilst Black Special. Photo by Latoya Okuneye.

He has a way of saying things that stick. One of them—"Dreaming is the physicality of manifestation"—sounds like something Sigmund Freud might've mused over. But no, that's Adjani Salmon: the writer, director and star of the television series Dreaming Whilst Black, who is turning the surreal inner churn of ambition into must-watch TV.

After its critically acclaimed first season (one that nabbed a Royal Television Society award and a BAFTA), Dreaming Whilst Black is back with a hilariously honest and unrestrained second series. What began as a shoestring web series is now a transatlantic comic hit.

Salmon reflects on how this story traces a path similar to Issa Rae's beloved comedy series Insecure, which levelled up from its YouTube origins in The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl to HBO network status. For Dreaming Whilst Black, this success looked like being commissioned by the Beeb and then championed stateside by the likes of Showtime and A24.

Dreaming Whilst Black won hearts by showcasing the all-too-relatable struggles of side-hustle culture through recruitment office worker Kwabena (Salmon), who dreams of being a filmmaker from his cubicle. The series threads surrealist flourishes into the deadpan monotony of office life, complete with microaggressions and creative compromise, giving it a touch of FX's Atlanta, but remaining its own.

Photographer: Latoya Okuneye / Creative Director: Philip Patton /
Editor-in-Chief + Producer: Janan Jama / Styling: Khurram Salim Rana / Styling Assistant: Temi Oyewusi

In its second season, the show finds there are other hoops to jump through and a different set of pencils to push, except now in the thorny new world of scripts. The title plays on the phrase, "driving while Black", referring to the disproportionate racial profiling of Black motorists by law enforcement in the US.

But Salmon and co-creator Ali Hughes have spun the concept into something broader: a dry-humoured autopsy of creative labour in the modern age, told through the lens of a young Black filmmaker trying to "make it" despite the oftentimes ridiculous roadblocks. 

Donning the infamous Office Space (1999) sticky note suit, the mind behind the motion tells The Culture Crypt all in a quickfire round of questions on the new season, including the hairy hypocrisies of diversity, equity and inclusion in entertainment, the award show trail and Black tax. Eyes up and take note.

The Culture Crypt: What does your "Out of Office" message say?

Adjani Salmon: "It should say: 'Mi gaan and mi soon come back.'"

What's some unexpected advice you think screenwriters should hear?

"You're shit. And it's okay. But there's no way to greatness other than through the shit. Your first draft is dead. Your second draft is probably dead. Your fifth draft—My fifth draft is dead! We have a rule now where unless it’s the 10th draft, the script is not ready."

Could you describe your style in three words?

"Ital. Luxury. Hobo-chic. That's me."

VIDEO DIRECTOR: Philip Patton

If you could cast anyone to be your office coworker, who would it be?

"Malachi Kirby as my mate. Daniel Kaluuya, probably as an office manager. Adelayo Adedayo maybe as the office love interest. Deborah Ayorinde feels like a boss, you know, the mean Sally from HR.

Lashana Lynch would be a work colleague as well. Letitia Wright could be an intern. That's a whole workplace drama right there."

What's the biggest lesson you've learned while creating Dreaming Whilst Black?

"That you just have to go for it. My uncle always told me, 'If you give 100%, you get 100%. Exams are that simple.'

With Dreaming Whilst Black, we gave absolutely 100%. Myself and the whole team. Always be self-critical. Always question: is my best my actual best?"

Could you walk me through your journey from creating the web series up until now?

"Came up with the web series in March 2016. We thought it would be a summer project, but it ended up taking two years. We wanted it to go viral, we wanted to be the next big thing, like we're going to be the next Insecure! Yeah, that didn't quite happen.

In the world of viraldom, when you had Hood Documentary having millions of views, we didn't really do anything. But we kept plugging it, bringing it into film festivals, and we finally landed at the BBC. They commissioned a pilot, then a table read.

We shot the pilot, won a BAFTA, won an RTS, got an international Emmy nomination, attracted A24, made a TV show, released in 2023. That did a mad thing. Two BAFTA nominations, RTS nominations, NAACP award. We're in Turkey, we're in Australia. I think we've done alright."

Gaffer: Emmanuel Ogunsanwo / Lighting Technician: Azeem Sher / Cover Design: Hannah Obikudu + Niall Smith / Hair + Makeup: Jumoke Ajayi / Extras: Liza Poonamoo, Pranavi Suthagar, Delino Fernando, Sam Tez + Nathaniel Forder-Staple / PR: AMPR

Season 1 was about making it in the film industry, as well as relationship complications and creative compromise. How would you package Season 2?

"Season 2 is about the wide world of diversity, equity and inclusion, and just how diverse it really is. But also this season talks about when the mandem are trying to circle the block, rekindle an old flame, get back a babe. 

We talk about Black tax, what it's like being the eldest, parents trying to get the best education for their children, whether that's private school with all the white kids, or state school with all the Black kids."

What's your opinion on spinning the block?

"If you've got to do it, you've got to do it with intention. You can't halfheartedly pull up. But I am not against circling. Sometimes you miss out. God gives us second chances so sometimes we should try to be godly as well."

What does the motto "chase dreams" mean to you?

"It means going for it. Dreaming is the physicality of manifestation."

Watch Season 2 of Dreaming Whilst Black on BBC iPlayer here.