The women are the real tour-de-force in Douglas Is Cancelled.
Describing Douglas Is Cancelled as a comedy-drama is the kind of red herring that delightfully underpins a series like this. That’s not to say that the new series isn’t laugh-out-loud hilarious at points or positively dramatic in several parts because, well, it’s both of those things.
The ITV series, while not wholly fitting into either genre tickbox, feels oftentimes like a pulsating thriller. At just four episodes long, the very central premise of ‘What the hell did Douglas say?’ propels you through to try and suss out whether the beloved news anchor is deserving of the social media outrage levied his way or not.
Set in the fast-paced world of TV news, Douglas Bellowes (Hugh Bonneville) and Madeline Crow (Karen Gillan) head up Live At Six together as the formidable friendly duo reeling off the day’s headlines. Madeline is social media savvy, amassing a million or so followers more than her older male counterpart, who quickly becomes embroiled in an online mess of career-ending proportions.
At the crux of the series is the simple fact that Douglas has reportedly said something incriminating and defamatory at a cousin’s wedding. Like a moth to a flame, it takes no time before the online battle lines are drawn, with Madeline’s supposed support for her colleague only putting the accusation in front of more people’s eyes. Is she helping or hindering Douglas’s impending cancellation?
It’s a question you come to get a little obsessed over in the episodes, reading into the glances shared between the pair or the way that Madeline is tactile in a way that makes a now very conscious Douglas rather uncomfortable.
But there’s no denying that while the series may appear to be all about Douglas – much in the same way it purports to be a comedy-drama – it’s actually very much about Madeline. So, it’s a good thing then that you’re essentially transfixed by Karen Gillan’s performance throughout.
The former Doctor Who star is no stranger to a leading role, having conquered Hollywood with blockbuster roles in the Jumanji films and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But here, Gillan takes on the role of Madeline with such gusto that you can tell it’s a character that means a whole lot to the actress.
One of the only women working in the newsroom and also considerably younger than her co-host and producer Toby (Ben Miles), you can tell that Madeline is the fresh-faced news figure that may be upholding the viewing figures for the show, but has to rally against being undermined and questioned behind-the-scenes. And so, Madeline is a bit of a hard-nosed enigma when we meet her, having clearly experienced a lot but putting a wall up to the characters around her and ultimately, the viewer.
It’s part of the intrigue of the show – we’re not only concerned with what Douglas actually said, but we’re also curious about how that unfolds for Madeline and what her motivations around the whole debacle are.
But trying to peer through Madeline’s well-meaning façade is Douglas’s wife and newspaper editor, Sheila, played brilliantly by Alex Kingston. The comedy elements of the series really come into their own in Kingston’s performance, with her droll humour and quick-fire temper bringing a snippet of the general chaos related to tabloid journalism.
While she’s trying to quell the growing public outcry against Douglas, she comes from a world and career that makes it an everyday occurrence to dissect and demean those in the public eye. But allowing her paper to write about her husband’s allegedly sexist comments? That’s where she draws the line.
Even though Sheila and Madeline are the two main women in the series, their relationship could not be more strained. In the anticipated Newsnight-style scene in which Madeline does a mock interview for Douglas to prepare him for his Hay Festival appearance, you may just squirm at how passive aggressive these two women are.
The former Doctor Who co-stars seem at home bouncing off one another in that final mammoth part of the series, which has echoes of Emily Maitlis‘s now well-known interview with Prince Andrew.
While there are plenty of comparisons to be drawn in the way that male TV figures can be cancelled at the click of a finger, award-winning screenwriter Steven Moffat actually initially penned Douglas Is Cancelled (before it was known as such) as a play. You can’t help but think that the dialogue-heavy scenes and simple setting of the ITV series would unfold superbly on a West End stage. But really, The Office-style camera zooms and bright TV studio lighting brings the series into its own.
There’s no denying that Douglas Is Cancelled is a series that is trying to say a lot. It’s trying to dig into cancel culture, sexism, social media and #MeToo, but does it manage to succinctly pose and answer any of the questions it raises in its four episodes? In some ways, yes and in others, it’s such a vast breadth of subjective material that there will be plenty of people (including this writer) who would want the series to go that step further.
But in the same way that its genre classification and Gillan’s own character may appear to be red herrings, so too is the subject matter. Douglas’s comments at his cousin’s wedding are soon revealed to be degrading, but what exactly are they and should his career go down in flames because of them?
That’s all only revealed in the final episode but actually, you come to realise that the series is more concerned with how women are treated in the industry. There are direct references to Harvey Weinstein’s own horrifying hotel encounters, which unfold in brilliantly pacy yet stomach-churning scenes that will make any viewer deeply uncomfortable but, again, in awe of Gillan’s skill.
The titling of Douglas Is Cancelled is deliberately misleading, putting viewers off the scent of the true case at hand and obscuring its view with the current buzzy term of ‘cancel’ instead. But it’s also a series where the archetypal hero and villain figures are a little more hazy to pin-point.
The women at the heart of this series are the real reason to tune in, written superbly by Moffat, who has clearly crafted characters like Madeline with care and consideration. Bonneville is also excellent at bringing the national treasure news anchor figure to life, providing just enough charm and self-pity to leave viewers questioning and sympathising with him in equal supply.
Like the very nature of X (formerly known as Twitter), which is consistently referenced throughout the series, Douglas Is Cancelled will leave viewers picking sides. But unfortunately, after the initial buzz has worn off, it’s a series that doesn’t quite deliver the punch many may be anticipating and could slide into the pile of ‘easily forgettable TV’ for most.
Douglas Is Cancelled will air on ITV1 and ITVX on Thursday 27th June 2024.
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