‘We got tired of asking for permission’: Meet the women making their own coming-of-age series

Shows like Fresh Meat, My Mad Fat Diary and The Inbetweeners once dominated conversations among teenagers entering adulthood.

But for the most part, they don’t offer loads in terms of diverse representation.

Danait Yallow, Mia Frank and Amelia Benjamin have set out to change that landscape by creating their own web series about starting university as people of colour.

Metro spoke with Danait and Mia about the show, Higher Learning, and how they hope to offer an alternative perspective to this defining period of youth when it can feel lacking in TV’s mainstream offerings.

Mia reflected: ‘It always comes down to not feeling completely seen or represented.

‘When you don’t have somebody who looks like you or who has gone through similar life experiences to you, it’s very difficult to invest time and energy into that show, or that film.’

That’s where Zara comes in – a character written by Danait, who scripted the series.

Zara is starting university outside of London, where she grew up, and is experiencing the typical Fresher nerves, but she’s determined to get herself out there. ‘She’s from a very sheltered home, so it’s about her coming to terms with her new environment, meeting new people and finding her feet in her first day,’ Danait told us.

Mia explained: ‘Our goal has always been to offer people who’ve never felt that representation or relatability on screen, somebody to latch onto and see themselves in.’

Without the backing of a big broadcaster, these women are making it themselves and publishing on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, where formats like microdramas are becoming increasingly popular.

While it’s a smart move to jump on this growing trend, housing their content on this popular platform also came from a place of necessity.

Talking about getting something commissioned, Danait admitted: ‘The process is completely out of touch for us. It’s out of reach.’

She continued: ‘We just got tired of asking for permission, asking and begging to be seen and heard.’ So they took matters into their own hands.

This isn’t the first project the creators have worked on as a trio. Their film, When The Sun Goes Down, a South Asian romance film, was selected for three film festivals with premieres in Canada and the UK.

Following on from their success, Danait said they’re keen not to dilute the narratives they’re telling just to make them broader and more accessible to a larger audience.

She explained: ‘I think that there is a hesitancy amongst TV execs or commissioners that perhaps something is too niche, or only a certain community will get this, so it’s not really relatable to a wider group.

‘But I actually think the opposite is the case. The more authentic you are, the more you cater to your niche.’

Danait argued that this is a sure way to get ‘universal themes that bleed through’. She said that audiences want to watch something that is ‘real’ and ‘led by authenticity’.

To sum it up: ‘Stop trying to be everything for everybody because it’s just going to feel empty.’

But to achieve this, creatives need to be trusted, because even though you might not understand it, Danait maintained ‘there is an audience that does.’

White students still account for 68% of all students in higher education, according to data collected for the year 2024/25 by the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

Both women talked about how their experiences at university felt different because of their cultural backgrounds. Danait said: ‘From my perspective and a lot of people of colour’s perspective, when you go to university, you go with the expectations of your family and the understanding of the gravity of the opportunity you’ve been given.’

On top of this, Danait remarked that with the added layer of being a woman, there is ‘pressure to do what your family expect of you’.

In all of this, she admitted: ‘You sometimes forget that you are also at university to live for yourself, to grow for yourself, to make mistakes.’

Through Zara, Danait wanted to show that she’s battling with these expectations while also understanding that ‘if she doesn’t live for herself, if she doesn’t grow as a person, she’s wasting her time at university’.

It’s a lot for anybody to grapple with, and the series follows Zara as she settles into her student accommodation while battling all of the above.

Speaking about her own experience of flying the nest, Mia shared how her time at university wasn’t always easy: ‘I have a very tight-knit community and am very close to my family, and my culture is very important to me.

‘And when you go to university, and you’re around people who maybe don’t understand that or can’t relate to you, it can be difficult.’

Luckily for Mia, she says she found her people and bonded with those she felt she could trust and relate to.

Seeing these realities reflected in art and culture is undoubtedly powerful, not only for those going through it, but also for those around them.

Halls of residence are famously luck of the draw, and often throw together a bunch of people who might not otherwise have met. But with the reference points that Mia, Danait and Amelia are creating through this web series, perhaps we all stand a better chance at understanding one another and forming cohesive bonds.

Higher Learning is available to watch on TikTok (@_amelia_benjamin
@miamoviemaker), Instagram (@amd.house.creative) and YouTube (@AMDHousecreative) from July 20.