Surprising number 1 on Netflix draws attention to unknown disease: “Almost like a superpower”

A new superhero series has been at number 1 in the Netflix charts for days. We are talking about the British production Supacell, which comes from the rapper, screenwriter and director Rapman aka Andrew Onwubolu.

In the plot of the series Several black people from South London suddenly develop superpowers. But the characters are also connected by a real illness that Supacell consciously wants to draw attention to.

Netflix hit Supacell draws attention to real hereditary disease

Before the characters in the series become aware of their superhuman abilities, they are all Sickle cell anemia This is a real hereditary disease that affects 17,000 people in Great Britain alone. The disease, in which the red blood cells are altered, can lead to complications such as severe pain, comatose states and even death.

The Supacell showrunner told the Guardian that he deliberately incorporated the disease as a central element in his series:

I wanted to raise awareness and help people with sickle cell anemia make you feel seen and heard. I get messages from young people and parents saying that they feel so seen and that they didn’t talk about it with their friends before, and now they’re interested.

Here you can watch a trailer for Supacell:

Onwubolu also says he has the utmost respect for the strength shown by those affected by sickle cell anemia:

Sometimes, due to the challenges associated with this disease, they need to superpower just to get the pain and complications under control. You have to summon something from within yourself that is almost like a superpower.

You can stream all six episodes of Supacell with a Netflix subscription.

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