Douglas Is Cancelled is a newsroom comedy-drama written by Doctor Who and Sherlock showrunner Steven Moffat now available on ITVX and ITV1 in the UK.
It stars Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville as a respected newsreader Douglas Bellowes who is on the brink of being cancelled despite being at the top of his game. But when he makes an ill-advised comment at a wedding, it seems his privileged life is about to come crashing down around him. Former Doctor Who star Karen Gillan plays Douglas’ younger, sharper and more savvy co-anchor Madeline, who he may or may not be able to trust.
Here’s everything you need to know about the ITV series Douglas Is Cancelled…
Douglas Is Cancelled release date
Douglas Is Cancelled is a four-part series that will premiere on ITV1 from Thursday June 27 2024 at 9pm with episodes running weekly at the same time. All four episodes will also be available from that date on ITVX.
We'll update if there's a US streaming channel and release date.
How to watch Douglas is Cancelled online: stream Steven Moffat drama from anywhere
Is there a trailer for Douglas Is Cancelled?
Yes a trailer for Douglas Is Cancelled has been released which shows how the story plays out and how a tweet about about wedding joke goes viral and ruins a career. Take a look at Hugh Bonneville and Karen Gillan in action below..
Douglas is Cancelled plot
Douglas (Hugh Bonneville) is a middle-aged, and greying, news anchor who is living his best life as a national treasure. But then he makes an ill-advised joke at his cousin’s wedding and a fellow guest threatens to expose him on social media. What follows is an online storm and Douglas’ actions are scrutinized and blown out of all proportion. How will he escape the controversy, and will he fall prey to "cancel culture"’? And can he really rely on his media-aware co-presenter Madeline (Karen Gillan) to help him out?
Douglas is Cancelled cast — Hugh Bonneville on playing newsreader Douglas Bellowes
Leading the cast as Douglas Bellowes is Hugh Bonnevile who is insecure, a little grumpy, and inclined to tell funny stories about people when he’s had a few. This gets him into trouble...
Hugh says: "Douglas has been the anchor of a popular news programme for many years. A man at ease in the corridors of, if not power, then at least of a television network. He’s married to Sheila, the Editor of a tabloid newspaper. They have one teenage child, Claudia, who currently identifies as female.
"Douglas is a perfectly decent, pleasant man who's doing a good job and is well liked for what he does. He thinks so, too. Even when, a couple of years ago, he welcomed a younger colleague, Madeline, onto the sofa beside him he felt secure, safe in the knowledge that the warm, avuncular relationship he had with his protegée wasn’t a threat to his own position. Is he smug? I wouldn’t say so. Unguardedly confident, definitely. But, just as the dinosaurs didn’t know they were a dying breed, Douglas is blithely unaware that the next generation is smarter, more streetwise and capable of sheer ruthlessness when the chips are down. Or when wrongs have not been righted. That’s his blind spot. His fatal flaw. That’s what’s at the heart of his character. Hubris."
* Hugh Bonneville is best known for his roles as Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham, in Downton Abbey and Henry Brown in the Paddington films. He’s also starred in I Came By, The Gold, W1A and Tipping the Velvet. He played Roald Dahl in the film To Olivia and narrates the series The Greatest Auction.
Karen Gillan on playing Madeline Crow
In Douglas Is Cancelled, Karen Gillan plays Douglas’ savvy news co-host Madeline Crow.
Karen says: "Where to even begin with Madeline? She started off as a very determined young girl who set her sights on getting into this particular industry. She was a huge fan of Douglas. She grew up watching him. She would rather watch him on TV than cartoons - she was a strange child like that! And then, she just dedicated her whole life to pursuing that. She went through a few experiences along the way that shaped her, and she quickly realised that she needed to harden up a little bit. She needed to put a guard up as she was exposed to more and more things within the industry. And so, when we meet her at the start of this drama, you just can't quite get a read on her. The idea is that you don't quite know what her motivations are, and you don't quite know whether you can trust her or not. That was really fun to play."
* Karen Gillan has previously played the Doctor’s companion Amy Pond in Doctor Who, during the Steven Moffat era, and stars as Nebula in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Endgame and Thor: Love and Thunder. Karen has also starred in Selfie, Jumanji, The Call of the Wild and Late Bloomers.
Ben Miles on playing Toby Patterson
Ben Miles plays show producer Toby Pattterson. Ben says: "The Toby we meet at the beginning is a man who is in a position of great authority. He is a successful media producer, with a team of people that he rules over. While he's not necessarily a tyrant, he's a successful male in the world of media, with all that brings. He is pretty ruthless. He knows what he wants. He's quite cynical, sharp, and intelligent. He is very self-assured. But he believes he's younger and hipper than he actually is. He thinks he can still charm the young women in the office. But in reality, they think he's a bit of a joke. We’ve all met those people, right?
"There's a clash of egos with Douglas. There’s a dynamic between them where Douglas is the alpha, he's the star of the show. But Toby knows that he is the puppet master. He believes that he is in fact the alpha, but he still has to manage Douglas's foibles because Douglas is the star. Over after-hours drinks in a hotel bar, Toby would tell you that he is the mastermind behind this and that Douglas would have been no one were it not for his talent. So there's that battle going on between them. Toby thinks Douglas is actually a bit of an idiot, and vice versa. But they tolerate each other because they need each other in order to maintain their standing in the industry. While they need each other, they don't particularly like each other. But they know there's a mutual dependence. So they play the game of being great mates."
* Ben Miles is currently starring in Napoleon and has also starred in The Crown, The Capture, Andor, Dracula, Coupling and Hijack.
Who else is starring in Douglas Is Cancelled?
Douglas Is Cancelled also stars Alex Kingston (A Discovery of Witches, Doctor Who) as Douglas's wife Sheila Bellows, while Madeleine Power is their daughter Claudia Bellowes.
Nick Mohammed (Ted Lasso, The Martian) is playing socila media expert Morgan who works for the news show and Simon Russell Beale (Thor: Love and Thunder) is playing Bently Cassock who is more old school in the world of media..
Behind the scenes and more on Douglas is Cancelled
Douglas Is Cancelled is being filmed in London in early 2024. The show has been created by famous screenwriter and executive producer Steven Moffat (Doctor Who, Dracula, Sherlock) and is produced by leading independent production company Hartswood Films (Sherlock, The Time Traveler’s Wife, Dracula, Coupling) in association with SkyShowtime and BBC Studios Distribution.
Steven Moffat will executive produce the series alongside his wife and fellow executive producer Sue Vertue (The Devil’s Hour, Inside Man, The Time Traveler’s Wife, Sherlock) on behalf of Hartswood Films. Ben Palmer (Urban Myths, Breeders, The Inbetweeners) is directing the series which is produced by Lawrence Till (Silent Witness, The Young Offenders, Shameless).
Steven Moffat says: "I just sat down and wrote this — didn’t even tell anyone what I was doing. And now it’s all happening, thanks to the amazing Sue Vertue (renowned tv producer and in a rare moment of weakness, my wife). I can’t quite believe we’ve managed to get the mighty Hugh Bonneville involved as Douglas and that we’ve lured my old friend Karen Gillan back from Hollywood, to play Madeline. And like that’s not enough, we’ve got Ben Miles, Alex Kingston, Nick Mohammed and Simon Russell Beale. It’s the kind of cast that makes you terrified about stepping into the room."
