Oscar-winning drama with 'laugh a minute' comedy airing tonight

An Oscar-winning drama with "laugh a minute" comedy is set to air tonight.

Written and directed by The Good Place's Cord Jefferson in his feature directorial debut, American Fiction is based on the 2001 novel Erasure by Percival Everett.

It follows a novelist called Thelonious "Monk" Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) who is frustrated with the establishment profiting off cliché-ridden Black entertainment. When Monk writes his own outlandish, stereotypically Black book, he suddenly finds himself at the very core of that hypocrisy he's long tried to distance himself from.

Alongside Wright, the film also stars Black-ish star Tracee Ellis Ross, This Is Us actor Sterling K Brown and Barbie's Issa Rae, as well as Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Myra Lucretia Taylor, John Ortiz and Adam Brody.

American Fiction premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival back in 2023, where it won the People's Choice Award. Following its release in cinemas, the film grossed $23 million worldwide and received numerous accolades.

It was named one of the top ten films of 2023 by the American Film Institute, as well as receiving five nominations at the 96th Academy Awards. They included Best Picture and Best Actor for Wright, with Jefferson winning Best Adapted Screenplay.

If you haven't yet watched the comedy-drama, now's your chance as it is set to air on BBC Two tonight (Sunday, September 28) at 10pm.

Right now, American Fiction boasts a certified fresh rating of 93% on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes from 295 reviews. Meanwhile, the film currently has a 95% audience score, with fans continuing to share their praise on social media.

"Watching American Fiction was an unexpected delight that struck a deep chord with me. I highly recommend this film to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the black experience and the universal journey of self-discovery," one person wrote on IMDb.

Another added: "Simultaneously a biting social commentary and a laugh a minute comedy, American Fiction is a terrific debut from writer/director Cord Jefferson. It's one of the best."

A third said: "Absolutely genius!!! Sometimes you watch a film and it reignites your faltering love for movies as a whole. I genuinely have not seen writing this complex yet simple and layered in years. This is one of the best movies I've seen in years."

A fourth viewer echoed the sentiment, saying: "I cried, I laughed and then I cried and laughed again. A genuinely spot on take of one black man's perspective on being black in a white America. A biting satirical comedy. If you enjoyed Stranger than Fiction or The Holdovers, you'll love this."

American Fiction will air at 10pm on BBC Two on Sunday, September 28