Why The Man Who Fell To Earth was intent on casting two Black actors as its leads

The Washington Post

"Sci-fi is waking up to power of letting Black characters breathe," says Helena Andrews-Dyer of the Showtime sci-fi series starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Naomie Harris. "HBO’s one-season wonders Lovecraft Country and Watchmen were each steeped in American racial politics. Yet it is still noteworthy that in The Man Who Fell To Earth, race permeates the plot but it doesn’t overpower it." Jenny Lumet says she and fellow co-creator Alex Kurtzman were intent on having a Black female lead -- one who wasn't a sidekick, a set piece or the comic relief. “Diversity isn’t a benevolent exercise,” said Ejiofor. “The more we normalize the engagement of all sorts of different people in our story telling, then the richer our story telling will be. You hope for the day when it’s not something people notice. When it’s totally normal to have all sorts of different people that, in fact, the opposite would be weird.” Lumet adds: “I firmly believe that every time you see a brown face on your screen that it becomes less remarkable. When Naomi and Chiwetel respond to your material, you just get down on your knees and say thank you.”