Dreaming Whilst Black’s Adjani Salmon: “If season 1 was about the glass ceiling, season 2 is about the glass cliff”

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After a highly anticipated wait since its 2023 debut, the second season of Dreaming Whilst Black is finally available.

The show’s latest season is fantastic, taking its already hilarious comedy to even greater heights. Viewers will be laughing within the first ten minutes! It’s a welcome return, not just for fans, but especially for Adjani Salmon, who created and stars in the series.

Let’s talk about the new season of *Dreaming Whilst Black*. Creator Adjua Salmon was really open about the huge weight of expectation following such a successful first season. It’s not entirely new to her, though. She explained that even the original pilot caused a big international buzz and earned some impressive nominations – RTS and BAFTA Awards, to be exact. It’s clear she’s used to high stakes at this point, which is exciting to see!

We were completely unknown before, and we just started creating what *we* enjoyed, which surprisingly resonated with people. This season, we decided to ignore outside opinions and focus on what genuinely interested us, because, like everyone else, we’re also fans of good content. We really just wanted to explore what *we* found compelling and share that.

This time around, things went much more smoothly. The first time felt chaotic – we were figuring everything out as we went. But this time, we were more confident and prepared. Knowing the characters well allowed us to focus on what we wanted them to do, making the whole experience much more enjoyable.

Salmon describes his show, Dreaming Whilst Black, as a documentary that really understands the inner workings of the TV industry, especially in this new season. The first season followed Kwabena as he balanced his dream of becoming a filmmaker with his day job in recruitment. Now, in the latest season, Kwabena is diving deeper into the TV world, actively working to build his experience and portfolio.

Kwabena isn’t interested in just any job; he’s looking for a show that can truly make a positive impact and give a platform to underrepresented communities. He finds what seems like the perfect opportunity with ‘Sin and Subterfuge,’ a historical drama led by Black producer Bridgette Julienne (Christine Adams). However, it soon becomes clear that even well-intentioned projects can face serious issues.

Salmon calls his production, *Sin and Subterfuge*, a “colour blind period drama.” He explains that the series explores what happens behind the scenes when aiming for diversity, revealing how well-meaning efforts can sometimes fail to achieve the desired results. Essentially, it’s an examination of how things can go wrong despite everyone having good intentions.

Without revealing any specific influences for his work, Salmon jokingly points out that, like the show *Dreaming Whilst Black*, *Sin and Subterfuge* begins each episode with a disclaimer stating that all characters and events are entirely fictional and not based on real people or happenings.

As a total film and TV buff, I’m always impressed when a show tackles tricky subjects with a light touch, and ‘Dreaming Whilst Black’ does that brilliantly. It manages to bring up important conversations – like colour-blind casting – while *still* being genuinely hilarious. It’s just built into the show’s core, apparently. Creator Adjua Salmon has said she mainly wants people to simply have a good time watching it, and honestly, it delivers on that promise.

When addressing these complex issues, Salmon focused on illustrating how power operates, how opportunities are controlled, the difference between what people intend and the actual results, and the unspoken motivations of those involved. Importantly, Salmon also wanted to approach the topic with empathy, believing that people don’t typically set out to deliberately hinder others based on their race or gender.

We’ve found that bringing up those concerns upfront usually means we don’t get the job. It’s more about understanding *why* it happens after we’ve already been hired. We try to be understanding, but we also want to be clear about the reality of the situation.

The success of a show like Dreaming Whilst Black relies heavily on its writers. However, according to creator Adjua Salmon, planning for season two happened during a particularly unusual and challenging time.

Salmon described the atmosphere going into the second season, explaining that after the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement and an initial surge in commissioned shows featuring Black creators, many of those shows weren’t renewed for additional seasons, and other similar projects weren’t picked up at all.

Looking around, things felt pretty discouraging, like all our progress had been erased. I wanted to shift the conversation to focus on the positive aspects of this moment. We wanted to acknowledge the changes since the BLM movement, and the idea that we’re now in a more diverse and promising environment.

In season 2, Kwabena deals with a lot of pressure, knowing his success could benefit everyone, but also fearing that failure would let down his whole community, as described by Salmon.

Essentially, the first season explores the challenges of the glass ceiling – the invisible barriers women face in their careers. The second season delves into the ‘glass cliff,’ a concept we researched extensively. The glass cliff refers to situations where people – often women – are given leadership roles in failing organizations, setting them up for failure and masking systemic issues as individual shortcomings. It’s about being given an opportunity that isn’t truly supported for success.

It’s frustrating because when people don’t succeed, it’s often seen as a personal failing, even though the system itself may not have provided a fair opportunity. This idea originated with feminist research showing how women were often promoted into unstable positions. Later studies revealed this pattern also impacts Black individuals, demonstrating that systemic barriers contribute to perceived personal failures.

Planning how to bring these ideas to life on screen made outlining season two challenging, explains Salmon. A key focus was always finding ways to visually represent abstract concepts for a broad audience. Salmon fondly remembers the writers’ room for ‘Dreaming Whilst Black,’ enthusiastically praising the entire team and the lively, creative discussions they had while developing the show.

A key development, particularly highlighted by the show’s female writers, was the reappearance of Vanessa (Babirye Bukilwa). According to Salmon, Kwabena is still drawn to her – he dreams of a life with her. When he finds out in season 2 that Vanessa has returned to London instead of staying in New York, it reignites his feelings for her.

Salmon emphasizes the importance of showing the humanity of the men in his work. We see this particularly through Kwabena’s struggles after a breakup, which reveals more about who he is. Salmon explains that many men aren’t encouraged to express their emotions, and aren’t often praised when they do. He understands this is because men have been conditioned to suppress their feelings for a long time, creating a lack of space for vulnerability.

Salmon aimed to demonstrate that Black men experience and deserve to have their feelings acknowledged. He understood the importance of authenticity, while also recognizing that these feelings affect others, particularly Black women, and he wanted to be accountable to them.

We all have a right to share our thoughts and feelings, but sometimes there are obstacles that prevent us from doing so. When we stay silent, it affects others. This was about helping people understand those barriers so we could start an open discussion.

Kwabena and Amy (played by Dani Moseley) also share intense emotional moments, as Amy struggles to balance her sense of obligation with her ambitions. Amy points out a privilege Kwabena has – a situation similar to Salmon’s, who was able to pursue his web series while living with his aunt, unlike his friends who had to prioritize work to make ends meet.

Salmon explains they wanted to tell this story from the perspective of a Black woman, using concepts like ‘Black Tax’ to realistically portray the Black experience and create a sense of connection with viewers.

Salmon amusingly recalls his mother adding a 40-inch TV to his shopping list after the first season aired, while his co-writer, Ali Hughes, never received any requests from his family.

Salmon explains that Black individuals often face slower financial progress compared to their white counterparts due to the financial responsibilities they have to their families – a phenomenon known as Black Tax.

For me, it’s usually my mother asking for a new TV, but many of my friends face requests to help family with things like their younger siblings’ sports fees or school trips. It feels like we don’t really have complete control over our income, because we have family members we need to support, people who have made sacrifices for us over the years.

Salmon, a series writer, emphasizes the importance of acknowledging what he *doesn’t* know. He explains that as a Black man who grew up in Jamaica, he can’t fully understand the experiences of Black women. Similarly, while he has some understanding of family dynamics, he doesn’t know what it’s like to have siblings because he grew up an only child.

Many TV writers could learn from this honest reflection. But considering the broader issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion – something this season of Dreaming Whilst Black encourages us to do – what does Salmon himself think about the progress we’ve made?

It’s been said countless times, but we really need to stop focusing on whether someone *intended* to cause harm, and start focusing on the *actual* harm caused. When someone apologizes, is it to make *themselves* feel better, or to genuinely help the person they hurt?

I believe once we shift our focus to how our words will affect others, instead of just what *we* want, we’ll communicate more effectively. It’s about considering what outcome we want for the other person – how we want them to act and feel – with every action we take.

Let’s quickly revisit our last discussion about the first season’s launch. Salmon had shared how empowering it felt to be a Black producer during a period when many shows with Black leads were being greenlit. I wondered if he still felt that same sense of excitement.

Being Black means choosing to remain hopeful, because without that hope, it would be easy to give up. However, it’s not always easy. Thankfully, technology and the rise of streaming services are creating more opportunities for Black creatives and storytellers than ever before, says Salmon.

The recent strikes in the US have significantly slowed down television production, creating difficulties for everyone involved. I’m even hearing concerns from people who traditionally have more advantages. It’s a challenging period overall, but I believe tough times often lead people to take more chances, and that could create new opportunities for us.

Salmon is thrilled with the success of shows like Supacell, Black Ops, and Boarders, highlighting the diverse range of content available. He believes this is just the beginning, and that continued support for Black creators will lead to even greater opportunities.

If “Dreaming Whilst Black” doesn’t get renewed after its second season, creator Adjani Salmon jokingly says it would send a pretty ironic message. Given the cliffhanger ending for his character, Kwabena, Salmon agrees with fans that the story needs to continue and he’s eager to see Kwabena finally reach Jamaica Road.

I’m really hoping we’ll see more of this story – maybe even a trip to Jamaica! The author, Salmon, doesn’t know for sure if that will happen, but he definitely wants to continue the narrative and explore those possibilities, which is fantastic to hear.

Kwabena has faced a lot of hardship trying to succeed in this industry, and he’s been badly hurt by it. Now, he feels he has nothing left to lose, so he’s decided to take a chance and go all in.

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2025-10-13 17:53