BBC's 'Black Ops' Heads to Hulu with Season 2 on the Way
Ariyon Bakare as DI Clinton Blair, Gbemisola Ikumelo as PC Dom Archibald, Hammed Animashaun as PC Kay Ogundare in 'Black Ops' Season 1
BBC
There's been a spate of worrying across the pond about the state of the TV comedy. There's a sense among those at the BBC that critics haven't given sitcoms their propers in quite a while, with fears that comedy could become an endangered form of entertainment. This is nonsense, of course, but there is a kernel of truth within these overblown proclamations: American streamers don't import British comedies the way they do dramas, and only a very few are willing to co-produce half-hour sitcoms from across the pond, as we have plenty of comedy at home, thanks*.
(*"Comedy at Home" being the superb Abbot Elementary, Only Murders in the Building, and Hacks. Obvs.)
However, Hulu (plus FX and the Disney+ UK arm) still believes the British comedy has a place in America, with series like Obituary and Extraordinary. Hulu also scooped up Such Brave Girls, the first TV series from writer Kat Sadler, which was part of the BBC's ambitious slate of commissions in 2023. The latter was successful enough to be renewed for a second season, and Hulu is returning to the well for another from that year's slate, Black Ops.
The BBC has been shopping this show to potential American buyers since it was initially announced, as the series, a "high-concept" comedy-thriller that's "genre-busting" from Akemnji Ndifornyen, who was still riding high from The Queen's Gambit at the time. Sadly, like Henpocalypse! and The Power of Parker, Black Ops was passed over (though its fellow new work, Dreaming Whilst Black, is one of Showtime's current bright spots.) But Hulu has now circled back to rescue it, especially since Season 2 is arriving soon.
Here's the show's synopsis:
The six-part thriller is set in East London and tells the story of Dom and Kay, two Police Community Support Officers who join the Met Police in the hope of cleaning up their community. However, they quickly find themselves unwittingly thrust into the murky world of deep cover infiltration. For Dom and Kay their lives become more of a fiasco than Donnie Brasco.
The series stars Gbemisola Ikumelo (Roadkill) as Dom, Hammed Animashaun (The Wheel of Time) as Kay, and Akemnji Ndifornyen (The Queen’s Gambit) as Tevin. The first season also co-stars Jo Martin (The Marlow Murder Club), Ariyon Bakare (His Dark Materials), Joanna Scanlan (Slow Horses); Robbie Gee (Supacell), Felicity Montagu (Beyond Paradise), Colin Hoult (A Very Royal Scandal), and Katherine Kelly (Mr Bates vs the Post Office).
The series supporting cast includes Jaz Hutchins (The Ipcress File), Emma Sidi (Starstruck), Lucian Msamati (Gangs of London), Kerry Howard (The Trouble with Maggie Cole), Alex Macqueen (Downton Abbey), Tyger Drew-Honey (Grantchester), Alan Ford (Unforgotten), Rufus Jones (Rivals), and Zoë Wanamaker (Criminal Record).
The series is created and executive produced by Gbemisola Ikumelo and Akemnji Ndifornyen, who co-wrote all episodes with Joe Tucker and Lloyd Woolf. Director Ben Gregor helmed all episodes. Ikumelo, Ndifornyen, Tucker, and Woolf executive produce alongside Josh Cole for BBC Studios.
Black Ops Season 1 will premiere on Hulu in 2025, and Season 2 is expected to follow in 2026.
