Douglas in Cancelled, on BritBox

Douglas Bellowes is supposed to be the one ruining lives, because he works in media. As far as the veteran TV presenter is concerned, he is the media. Wisely, the British apply the term “journalist” more sparingly, especially for television talking heads. His wife, Sheila, the editor of a bottom-feeding tabloid frankly does not deserve such a title either. However, they find the cancellation is on the other foot in writer-creator Steven Moffat’s four-part Douglas is Cancelled, which premieres tomorrow on BritBox.

The veteran’s TV host’s career is stronger than ever thanks to his on-air partnership with Madeline Crow. She happens to be a much younger woman—demographic facts that will become extremely significant. Then one day, Bellowes finds himself in the middle of a social media firestorm when a post accuses him of making misogynistic joke.

Was it really misogynistic, or was it merely sexist? Bellowes believes that is an important distinction, but he cannot judge for himself, because he was too drunk to remember what he might have said at that fateful wedding reception. Regardless, he knows he didn’t say it, whatever it might have been.

Unfortunately, Bellowes’ agent is completely useless, but his wife is intimately familiar with such scenarios, so she knows they always end badly. However, he can count on Crow’s support—or can he? Frankly, it is hard to tell, because her tweet supposedly defending him could be interpreted several ways.

Douglas is Cancelled is sort of like the Oleanna of cancel-culture. A lot of assumptions and interpretations change as Moffat alters viewers’ vantage points. Instead of choosing sides, the audience should just enjoy the carnage.

Bellowes is truly insufferable, but he is surrounded by mendacity, hypocrisy, and bile. To some extent, Moffat critiques online cancel culture, but even more so, he truly excoriates wokeness. There are no villains, per se, but Bellowes’ social justice warrior college student daughter Claudia is often pretty scary and always totally ridiculous. This brutally hilarious exchange with her father scathingly satirizes her extremism:

“Gay people are executed everywhere dad.”
“No they aren’t. Would you like a list of countries where they’re executed?”
“No”
“Why not?”
“Because its racist!”

Hugh Bonneville (a.k.a. Lord Granville) is perfectly cast as the pompous Bellowes. He does a great job both delivering punch lines and serving as the butt of jokes. Bonneville’s portrayal also makes it clear Bellowes is a twit, but not an idiot. You definitely pick up on his desperate drive to survive.

In contrast, Karen Gillan convincingly plays Crow as a dangerously smart and unpredictable free agent in Bellowes’ kerfuffle. Alex Kingston is deliciously caustic as Bellowes’ wife, while Simon Russell Beale deliberately inspires the right kind of groans and facepalms as Bellowes’ utterly incompetent agent, Bentley.

Douglas is Cancelled features some of the sharpest, satirical writing of the year. It is the sort of incisive sociological observation we used to find in Tom Wolfe novels. Very highly recommended, Douglas is Cancelled starts streaming tomorrow (3/6) on BritBox.