YouTube orders Munya Chawawa comedy exploring attitudes to race in UK

ETVF: YouTube has commissioned an original comedy series from UK indie Expectation and British-Zimbabwean comedian Munya Chawawa’s prodco Munz Made It.

Munya Chawawa

Four-parter Race Around Britain was announced by YouTube EMEA’s head of originals Luke Hyams at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Tuesday.

Created, exec produced and fronted by Chawawa, the satirist and comedian best known for his viral online sketches and as the creator of rap sensation Unknown P, Race Around Britain will follow the comedian as he heads off on a very personal mission.

Chawawa will explore the black experience and culture in the farthest-flung corners of the UK in the hope of discovering that it’s not racism and prejudice that divides us but a lack of cultural education and exposure.

On each leg of his journey around the UK, Chawawa will use his satirical expertise and quick-witted character comedy to have real conversations with different communities about race in Britain today.

Luke Hyams

Chawawa said: “I’ve always wanted to create a show that embodies the black experience and explains our stories and our struggles through the medium of comedy. The last few years have proved it to be the most effective means of tackling the biggest challenges posed by society. Race is one such challenge Britain has tussled with over the last year and I can’t wait to take it head on.”

Hyams added: “Race Around Britain is an ambitious and progressive comedy experiment that explores the subject of racism, and the tensions that exist around the changing notion of British identity, in a sensitive yet satirical manner that we hope will push the conversation forward. Munya is a once-in-a-generation talent and we are incredibly proud to be along for the ride as he tackles this most timely of subjects in his indubitable style.”