What Dreaming Whilst Black says to Black Creatives Everywhere—Not Just Across the Pond
By Elizabeth Paige Richardson | March 10, 2026 | Celebrity & Culture
DREAMING WHILST BLACK—Pictured: Adjani Salmon (Credit: Big Deal Films)
From its start in 2018 as a web series to picking up BAFTA recognition and praise, Adjani Salmon’s Dreaming Whilst Black is a prime example of creating something unique outside of traditional avenues. Now that the comedy’s hilarious and sobering second season has crossed over to the United States on Paramount+, there’s no better show for Black creatives to be watching in a time when nothing seems like a guarantee.
Even here in the states, we can all relate to the idea of trying to chase our dreams and have unexpected roadblocks pop up even when we think we’ve taken the next step to “making it”—but as Salmon’s creation says, that doesn’t have to stop us from finding joy in our process and trying to build ourselves up.
No matter what anyone says, hold on to your dream
Adjani Salmon knows the struggle of having to create your own opportunities to hold onto your vision and how difficult it is to stay the course when outside eyes looking in are judging your unconventional path.
Some of the most raw moments of a hilarious season 2 are when Kwabena’s uncle comes at him for not holding down a traditional job—often seen as the “correct path” despite Kwabena’s tremendous efforts toward becoming a full-fledged director. Even his manager says he should consider settling for something less.
“Obviously you’re going to have people come in, and you know, everybody’s going to tell you, ‘This is how you make TV,’ but just remember you know how to do this,” Salmon says in real life. “And we’ve tried to, no matter how big or grand the show gets, just to center ourselves in it.”
There are a lot of times when the “Golden Ticket” will not fulfill us
There isn’t a perfectly paved road to directorial success for Kwabena, even after he lands what should be his golden opportunity; he’s quickly hit with reality, sitting across producers whose views reek of performative inclusivity.
“The more you get promoted in a job, the less Black faces you tend to see. So we just wanted to reflect that, to let people feel seen,” Salmon notes of the real-life parallel. “We just wanted to highlight the complexity of progress because it felt right for the times that we’re in.”
Still, Salmon proves his comedy chops this season and makes the audience laugh about something that can really strike a nerve.
It takes teamwork to make your vision come to life
Even though Salmon wears many different hats—writer, producer, and lead actor—he knows that having a team of writers has helped him fully flesh out his vision before the audience presses play. And unlike the upper ranks of the fictional Sin and Subterfuge team that Kwabs is a part of, there’s a real sense of collaboration in the show’s writer’s room.
“I think it’s a question just for writers in general; it’s like, how do you cover your blind spots, right?” Salmon says. “So, yeah, cool, we’re two men who write a show that has a lot of women.”
The solution to creating a show that celebrates and touches all aspects of the Black community?
“Cool, well, bring women into the writer’s room, bring women into the script development, the script editing department,” he says.
Friends to lean on make the whole process a little easier to endure
Most importantly of all, Kwabena has a support system of friends and family that helps him out when he’s going through a rough patch. His friend Amy goes through her own battles as a writer trying to get her entertainment ideas off the ground and a bit of family friction with her sister, much like Kwabs.
Just like Kwabena’s support system of friends and his mother, Salmon knows that an important part of his journey to collaborating with the big studios like Big Deal, A24, Paramount, and the BBC started with a shared passion with his friend.
“So, you know, the main writers, Ali Hughes and myself, we started as a web series,” he says. Through it all though, Salmon can’t help but reflect on the latest season and say, “It’s funny because for us, we’ve grown over time.”
Stream Dreaming Whilst Black season 2 on Paramount+ now
