History Series / NoughtsAndCrosses

** [[{{NiceGirl}} Sephy]] preparing breakfast for her mother's birthday and later being the only Cross at the party to check Callum was alright when he hurt himself.

A 2020 Creator/{{BBC}} television adaptation of the first novel in the ''Literature/NoughtsAndCrosses'' book series by Creator/MalorieBlackman, starring Masali Baduza as Sephy Hadley and Jack Rowan as Callum [=McGregor=].

* SparedByTheAdaptation: The book ended on a rather [[DownerEnding depressing note]], with [[spoiler:Callum executed for kidnapping Sephy]]; here, they both make it out alive.

* FantasticSlurs: "Blanker" is used as the equivalent of the N-word, or "Kaffir" (deriving from "Blank", i.e. "white" in several languages), for white people instead. "Dagger" is one for Crosses which Noughts use.

* MixedAncestry: Yaro, the son of [[spoiler:Kamal]], a Cross (black) with a Nought (white) woman. [[spoiler:Sephy]]'s interracial relationship with [[spoiler:Callum]] causes the conception of a child as well.

%%* NotSoDifferent: [[spoiler: Kamal Hadley and Jack Dorn.]]

* LongLostRelative: Yaro turns out to be the half-brother who [[spoiler:Sephy and Minerva]] had not known they had.

** Cross stereotypes about Noughts (their men are naturally aggressive, incapable of controlling their lust, for any Cross woman especially, Nought women being wild with a strong libido) echo those that were given to Black people.

* ModestyBedsheet: Sephy has the cover up over the breasts in bed beside Callum after they have sex.

* StarCrossedLovers: Oh boy, Sephy and Callum, with the illegality of their relationship just the ''start''. She's originally dating Callum's abusive, commanding officer and her father is one of the most vitriolic anti-nought politicians, while Callum's brother supports the anti-Cross terrorist group. [[spoiler: Then Sephy's parents sack Callum's mother, driving his family into even more desperate straits; Jude detonates a bomb that almost kills Sephy's family; Sephy accidentally gets Callum arrested, leading to Ryan taking the fall for the crime, and he's murdered under the orders of ''Sephy's'' father.]]

* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: The Liberation Militia seek to overthrow a racist government... and bomb a hospital where minister Kamal was visiting, killing two doctors and a janitor.

* PersecutionFlip: The series depicts an alternate world where seven hundred years ago a parallel Britain (i.e. Albion here) was conquered and colonized by the Aprican Empire. Due to this, white people (Noughts) live under black people (Crosses) as second-class citizens, suffering from segregation and police brutality.

* MixedAncestry: Yaro, the son of [[spoiler:Kamal]], a Cross (black) with a Nought (white) woman.

%%* NotSoDifferent: [[spoiler: Kamal Hadley and Jack Dorne.]]

* SpiritedYoungLady: Sephy.

* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: The Liberation Militia fight to end the racist oppression of Albion, but do so using tactics like bombing hospitals. Many Noughts view them as heroes, but they're called terrorists by the Cross government.

* FantasticSlurs: "Blanker" is used as the equivalent of the N-word, or "Kaffir" (deriving from "Blank", i.e. "white" in several languages), for white people instead. "Dagger" is one for Crosses which the Noughts use also.

* LadyDrunk: Jasmine is an upper class woman (her husband being a government minister) who's an obvious alcoholic as well, to the concern of her family. She seems very unhappy with her marriage and life overall, drinking to compensate this.

* FantasticSlurs: "Blanker" is used as the equivalent of the N-word, or "Kaffir" (deriving from "Blank", i.e. "white" in several languages), for white people instead. "Dagger" appears to be one for Crosses which Noughts use too.

* ParentalAbandonment

* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: Thoughtful Callum and aggressive Jude. Reflected in their efforts to reform Albion, with Callum trying to influence things from within, while Jude joins the extremist Liberation Militia. Also highlighted through their appearance, as Callum is slightly-built PrettyBoy, while Jude is a burly {{Hunk}}.

* CategoryTraitor: Callum is viewed as a traitor by many fellow Noughts after he joins the military academy (which only one other Nought cadet attends), because he's serving the ruling Crosses.

* DisappearedDad:
** [[spoiler:Kamal]] was completely absent from Yaro's life, due to him being born from an affair (which was also illegal as it's an interracial relationship).
** [[spoiler:Ryan]] is killed in prison, leaving [[spoiler:Callum and Jude]] bereft of him.

* [[spoiler: BigotWithACrush: Kamal loathes Noughts even more than most other Crosses, but it's revealed he previously dated and had a child with a Nought woman.]]

* MalignedMixedMarriage: Interracial relationships are illegal. They still occur clandestinely-a whole motel caters to illicit liaisons among such couples. Elaine is jeered by the Cross cadets after Lakan reveals she was there (though [[DoubleStandard nothing happens to Barnaby]], whom she'd been with). Sephy and Callum try to keep their relationship a secret because of this. [[spoiler:Kamal]] is also quite keen to conceal the fact he had an affair with a Nought woman in the past, and they have a son.

* FalseConfession: [[spoiler:Ryan]] falsely confesses to bombing the hospital. While the police realize he didn't do it (the bomber was partly seen on video, and looked nothing like him) they accept it anyway to look good with the higher-ups. [[spoiler:He did it to protect his son, who really planted the bomb. Ryan later pleads guilty, and is sentence to life.]]

* MalignedMixedMarriage: Interracial relationships are illegal. They still occur clandestinely-a whole motel caters to illicit liaisons among such couples. Elaine is jeered by the Cross cadets after Lakan reveals she was there (though [[DoubleStandard nothing happens to Barnaby]], whom she'd been with). Sephy's relationship with Callum is also kept secret because of this. [[spoiler:Kamal]] is also quite keen to conceal the fact he had an affair with a Nought woman in the past, and they have a son.

* PoliceBrutality: In Episode 1, a Cross police officer hits a Nought youth with his cudgel for no real reason aside from racist animus, putting him into a coma. [[spoiler:He later dies]]. This serves as the spark of the plot.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Prime Minister Folami recognizes Nought oppression isn't sustainable and works to bring racial unity in Albion. [[spoiler: She fails, thanks to Kamal.]]

%%* [[spoiler: BigotWithACrush: Kamal loathes Noughts even more than most other Crosses, but it's revealed he previously dated and had a child with a Nought woman.]]
* AwfulWeddedLife: Kamal and Jasmine.

* FantasticSlurs: "Blanker" is used as the equivalent of the N-word, or "Kaffir" (deriving from "Blank", i.e. "white" in several languages), for white people instead.

* [[spoiler: BigotWithACrush: Kamal loathes Noughts even more than most other Crosses, but it's revealed he previously dated and had a child with a Nought woman.]]

** In the show's backstory, Albion (viewed as a "backwater") was colonised by Aprica (a powerful world empire) and the elite Cross-minority set up rule over the majority nought population, mirroring the European colonisation of numerous countries, including India and South Africa.

** The police violence against noughts and the subsequent protests echoes police brutality against African Americans and Black Lives Matter movement.

* NiceToTheWaiter: Sephy. It's notable that she and Callum end up meeting again, because she came to help a random Nought waiter - who she didn't even recognise as Callum at the time - when he hurt himself serving drinks.
* NotSoDifferent: [[spoiler: Kamal Hadley and Jack Dorne.]]

* PersecutionFlip: The series depicts an alternate world where seven hundred years ago a parallel Britain (i.e. Albion here) was conquered and colonized by the African Empire. Due to this, white people (Noughts) live under black people (Crosses) as second-class citizens, suffering from segregation and police brutality.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Prime Minister Folami recognises Nought oppression isn't sustainable and works to bring racial unity in Albion. [[spoiler: She fails, thanks to Kamal.]]

* WideEyedIdealist: Sephy.

A 2020 Creator/{{BBC}} television adaptation of the first novel in the ''Literature/NoughtsAndCrosses'' book series by Creator/MalorieBlackman.