Rainbow Crew is an ongoing interview series that celebrates the best LGBTQ+ representation on screen. Each instalment showcases talent working on both sides of the camera, including queer creatives and allies to the community.
Next up, we're speaking to Domino Day creator Lauren Sequeira.
Domino Day has been a long time coming, because how often do we get to see quality genre fare created specifically for British terrestrial TV? Let alone a show that centres queer and straight women of colour in the realm of fantasy on screen? But beyond that, it's also been a long time coming for the show's creator, Lauren Sequeira.
While she's been working on this series about a witch grappling with her power in present-day Manchester, the London-born writer has been quietly building a name for herself with key writing credits on Gangs of London and her own creation, the BAFTA-nominated spin-off to The Dumping Ground titled Sasha's Contact Meeting.
Domino Day is Sequeira's big calling card though, and from what we've already seen, don't be surprised if a second season is commissioned soon. If not, our coven might need to have a word with the head of commissioning at the BBC.
Digital Spy caught up with Lauren Sequeira to discuss Siena Kelly's casting and witchy queer metaphors in her Buffy-inspired BBC series.
What inspired the writing behind Domino Day? It feels like Buffy and Charmed might be key influences, and it also reminds us of older BBC Three shows like Being Human too.
I mean, definitely Buffy, Charmed and a bit of True Blood as well. And also A Discovery of Witches.
When we did our first writers' room, that was on at the time so we watched it as like, 'Okay, let's see how they do witches and how we can be different' sort of thing.
Domino Day is really different, especially when it comes to Domino herself, the main character. To start with, it's unclear if she's a villain or a hero.
That's how I write. I really don't like writing in black and white, so to speak. Having Domino in a dilemma where she has to go on these awful dates and feed off of these people that she doesn't want to – I mean, she picks the bad guys to make herself feel a bit better about her decision, but you can tell that she's disgusted with herself.
From an audience standpoint, those characters are just interesting and really pull you in. It's almost like you don't know what they're gonna do next. This is a supernatural thriller, so I just want the audience to always be guessing where it's going to go.
The name Domino Day evokes some interesting imagery. Where did that name come from?
I always wanted her name to have a little bit of alliteration. When I first thought of the character, like years ago, before I even brought it to the BBC, there was a vampiric element, so the "Day" was a bit ironic, but then I moved into witchcraft and the name Domino, it's a domino piece.
There's a story around it in the show, but it's black and white. It's visually her in a way and it's just a cool sort of hero/antihero name, because she's both.
Sex is integral to the show from early on. It's how Domino meets her dates and is able to feed. What was it like to pitch a racy, sexy show like this to the BBC of all places?
I never got any concerns or pushback.
When you're looking at the dating world, it's inevitable that you're going to explore that. It's the transient nature of apps. People do use them to just find people to have sex with so that was always built into the premise.
The arm gestures that Domino uses while she feeds are really striking. They're quite eerie, but also very sensual still. Can you talk us through that choreography?
Well, that was actually the lead director Eva Sigurdardottir and Siena [Kelly]. I always imagined it would feel animalistic, but Siena actually comes from a dancing background. They were talking about how these feeds should be, and it's like, when she's feeding, it should be a bit euphoric. It's like, 'Yeah, I'm getting that energy'.
Later in the show, other feeds aren't as armsy and handsy [Laughs]. It depends on who's she's feeding off and where she's at in her journey.
Can you talk us through casting Siena?
We started by casting our Domino, because that's the core of the show. We saw Siena's take, all of us, and I really thought that with casting, there would be a lot of debates like, "No, this person wants that person," but we were all on board with Siena.
Particularly in the first two episodes, when Domino doesn't have many people to talk to, you need an actor that can do power, but also vulnerability. And Siena just nailed that in the audition with her eyes, and how she used her voice. So it was perfect casting.
Manchester is also key to the show. What was behind the decision to set Domino Day outside of London? Because that's typically where supernatural fare like this ends up shooting.
Back when it was in development, I did originally set the show in London, but when talking to the BBC, they really want to reflect other other cities around the country, and I was like, "Yeah, I'm up for that. I just need a city." Because if the show was set in a village, the dating pool be a little bit small [Laughs].
So when I was looking at cities, and just looking at Manchester, there's a really cool vibe there in terms of the fashion. It feels quite Gothic as well, but also modern. And I just thought, "Yeah, I could have a witchy show there."
Was there anything you found particularly challenging about this project?
Doing any genre show, you're building the rules. The challenge I found was that I would write too much. Then it was like, "Oh, I need to trim some episodes down." There were some storylines in there that I really wanted to tell. As a new writer with their first show, it's difficult. Like I really wanted to tell that part.
The team around me, the BBC, I was always having conversations with them. They have been championing me before this show on other projects, so I felt like I had a good relationship with them. We would always have a dialogue.
A big part of the lore is how covens operate in this world. The main coven is described as a "safe space" at one point, and there's a really wonderful queer metaphor about female outsiders who find comfort and safety with each other.
Domino's journey is feeling like a monster and not being connected with others. The coven is that representation of a queer space where all are welcome.
At first, they're trying to work out what she is and they're worried, but then they go on a journey of realising this is who Domino is. We need to help her and ultimately, what Domino needs is this space to thrive and grow as a witch and learn how to control her powers.
The concept of "severing", where a witch can have her powers taken away for what's apparently their own good, also made us think of conversion therapy and how that's packaged as something 'beneficial'. Was that a deliberate metaphor?
It wasn't conscious in my mind, but that absolutely is a metaphor. I always approached that story point as Domino thinks this is what she needs, but we'll learn that she doesn't. She won't be who she is if she does this.
Were there any queer influences you drew upon from other shows or films?
The Willow storyline in Buffy. I always wanted more of that when I watched it. So with Sammie's relationship, it was just touching the surface of it. If we do get another season, I really want to explore that more. I am a queer person so I put my own experiences in there.
You mention a potential second season. Is that something you're already thinking about if the show's renewed?
Fingers crossed. I resolve some things in season one, but I also leave some cliffhangers that I'd absolutely love to explore further. I have ideas, but I don't know if I can say anything yet...
A second season would be great for many reasons, but we want to touch on the fact that Domino Day is a queer, female-led show starring women of colour in a genre often dominated by white men. Can you explain why that element is important?
The most important characters aside from Domino are Sammy and Kat. I always wanted these strong, warm, Black women that Domino finds a safe haven with.
Then also with the character of Leon, I really wanted to show a positive representation of a Black man who's in touch with his emotions. He's calm and receptive to Domino's plight in a way. Well, I guess he doesn't know she's a witch. But he knows she's struggling.
Percelle Ascott is very charming in this. A lot of fans will be shipping Leon with Domino almost immediately after watching the show.
There'll be different teams, I think. Some will be into that bad boy, Silas, and some will want Leon. It's sort of like The Vampire Diaries. There was always Team Damon and Team Stefan.
Looking back, is there a particular queer show or film that really resonated with you when you were younger?
I'm gonna say the typical – The L Word. When I was realising that I like women as well as men, The L Word was just there. I watched Generation Q as well. It didn't feel the same.
But yeah, that and obviously Willow in Buffy. But it's been very sparse, that representation, so it's just important that this queer through-line was there in my show.
What advice do you have for younger queer people who might be struggling with their identity right now?
It's linking into those themes of Domino Day, reaching out to the people you trust and talking about it. I came out to my friends first actually before my family and my family were cool, cool about it. But it's just knowing that you're not alone is the main thing definitely,
Domino Day will premiere on Wednesday, January 31 on BBC iPlayer with all six episodes, and will also broadcast weekly from the same evening, starting at 9pm.
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After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
