And I think it opens up these added layers of meaning and interpretation that I just really enjoy. SANDERS: You aren't afraid to have work that is speaking to the sacred and the secular at the same time. MILTON BRUNSON AND THE THOMPSON COMMUNITY SINGERS: (Singing) Better run to the ark before the rain starts. And that is kind of what those 12 episodes are about. And she essentially has to build her own home and her own safety. And she has.ĬOEL: No, she's never going to make it to the house. And they're singing, come on in this house, it's going to rain. And there's something about this girl that has strayed so far from home. Time, this church song is so far away from the life Arabella is leading at that moment. Pulling against club life, isn't it? But at the same.ĬOEL. But also it sounds so - there's something joyful. So it's a warning, and it's saying, come on in because it's going to rain. And as I wrote, that is the song that was written into the script. MILTON BRUNSON AND THE THOMPSON COMMUNITY SINGERS: (Singing) There's a brand-new feeling in the air. And you expect to hear some techno or some dance music or some loud club tracks, and you hear this gospel song. Your character - her drink has been drugged in a bar, and she's stumbling through the bar, about to collapse, and then be whisked away by some really bad dudes. MILTON BRUNSON AND THE THOMPSON COMMUNITY SINGERS: (Singing) Can't you see the clouds gathering? And I first heard this song in the premiere of "I May Destroy You." And it stuck with me because it's one of the - it was a song in one of the eeriest scenes I think I've ever seen in modern television. I was playing this morning on my run, getting ready to talk to you, this song "It's Gonna Rain" by Reverend Milton Brunson. But for some time now, I have had a burning question about the first episode of that show. And it's one of the best-reviewed shows of the last year.
Her most recent show is called "I May Destroy You." She wrote it. I'm Sam Sanders, and my guest today is actress and writer Michaela Coel. You're listening to IT'S BEEN A MINUTE from NPR. It might be uncomfortable for some listeners. This conversation includes discussion of sexual assault.