The First Look at 'Douglas Is Cancelled' Features Lots of Familiar Faces

ITV has released a first look at its upcoming comedy-drama series Douglas Is Cancelled, a star-studded show with an impeccable pedigree and a seriously questionable premise. In the year of our Lord 2024, do we really need a workplace comedy-drama about cancel culture? We're all about to find out together thanks to this four-part series, which will explore the public fallout after a popular TV presenter makes an off-colour joke at a wedding.

The series is the latest project from Steven Moffat (Sherlock) and aims to explore issues of sexism, professional gender politics and social media. Your mileage can and almost certainly will vary on the wisdom of this decision, particularly given our current cultural moment, the overall lack of even the most "cancelled" of public figures facing anything like lasting consequences, and the frequent criticism of Moffat's depiction of female characters in his other properties. But hope springs eternal I suppose, and the series' cast is next-level excellent.

Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey) stars as the eponymous Douglas Bellowes, an established broadcaster whose time on the popular news program Live at Six has made him a national treasure. Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy) is his younger, more technologically savvy co-star Madeline, who has an active social media presence and a sharp mind. But things get complicated between them after Douglas makes a controversial joke at a wedding that's overheard --- and posted on social media --- by another guest.