Mood is a British musical drama television series created and written by Nicôle Lecky, based on her one-woman play Superhoe. The six-part series premiered on BBC Three on 1 March 2022.
Sasha ClayâÂÂa 25-year-old aspiring singer from LondonâÂÂis unemployed and financially unstable, and her boyfriend of ten years, Anton, has called time on their relationship after she allegedly slept with his brother Dion. She retaliates by recording verbally abusive video messages whilst pleading with Anton to forgive her before setting fire to his front yard, leading to an arson charge. Her bipolar weed dealer, Saleem, introduces her to another client, social media influencer Carly Visionz, who encourages Sasha to network at a party thrown for Esmerelda Akiva, a blackfishing beauty ambassador who recently acquired a million Instagram followers. Following an altercation with Laura's partner, Kevin, Sasha leaves home and attends the party where she is captivated by the glamour, but remains homeless once the event ends. After a short stay with Saleem, she moves in with Carly, but soon discovers the latter is actually an online sex worker. Sasha adopts the pseudonym "Lexi Caramel", with Carly receiving a hefty commission after introducing her to the business. As SashaâÂÂs online presence grows, she gains a steady social media following, but her new career takes a darker turn, and she comes to realise that the world of social media is less glamorous than she imagined.
Lecky first performed her one-woman play Superhoe as a staged reading with the Talawa Theatre Company in 2018 followed by an official debut at the Royal Court Theatre in January 2019, by which point the BBC had already commissioned a pilot from Lecky. At the end of 2019, BBC Three officially greenlit the series, a six-part television adaptation of Lecky's play from Bonafide Films starring, written, and executive produced by Lecky herself. Also attached as executive producers were Lucy Richer, Ayela Butt, and Margery Bone. The pick-up by BBC Three was announced in February 2020.
The rest of the cast, including Lara Peake, Jessica Hynes, Paul Kaye Mia Jenkins, Jordan Duvigneau, Flo Wilson, Jorden Myrie, Jason York, Chantelle Alle, and Mohammad Dalmar, was revealed in October 2021. Notable guest actors included Sai Bennett, Tom Moutchi, Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Tom Stourton, and Renee Bailey. Little Mix singer Jade Thirlwall makes a cameo as Carly's nemesis Jade.
The creatives behind the series, including directors Dawn Shadforth and Stroma Cairns, first appeared on a panel to discuss the series at the 2021 BBC Showcase. Principal photography began in March 2021.
Mood, initially titled after the play Superhoe, was first announced in October 2021 as part of BBC's then upcoming winter slate. BBC Three released the series' trailer in February 2022. BBC Studios is distributing Mood internationally; it started airing on BBC America in the United States, premiering November 6, 2022.
Despite critical acclaim, BBC3 viewing figures were poor; episode three garnered only 54,594 viewers, and was 15th in that channel's ratings for the week of March 14th-20th.