I watched Douglas Is Cancelled and it made me question everything I put online

In recent years, the phrase “cancel culture” has started to be used more and more. This term refers to someone considered to have acted or spoken in an unacceptable manner and therefore boycotted or avoided, usually on social media, and sometimes fired from their job.

In an age where we all seem to be glued to our phones, we’re hearing more and more stories about people who have said or done questionable things in the past, and how people’s attitudes towards those actions have changed today. So the concept for ITV’s new comedy-drama Douglas Is Cancelled is an interesting one, because we’ve all seen examples of this in recent times.

Despite its obvious connotations to real-life events, writer Steven Moffat has made it clear that this is definitely not the case. Speaking in a recent interview with Metro, former Doctor Who showrunner Moffat responded to the question of whether real-life scandals inspired his four-part storyline. “Not much, because the incidents you’re referring to don’t have much in common with what we’re talking about,” he said. “It doesn’t hurt, I suppose, to talk about the show, but the reality is that TV presenters have been getting themselves into trouble all the time.”

LEARN MORE: Douglas is cancelled: start time, filming locations where you’ve already seen the cast of ITV’s new dark comedy

LEARN MORE: ITV Douglas Is Canceled cast: Who stars in the comedy-drama with Hugh Bonneville?

Douglas Is Cancelled tells the story of Douglas Bellowes (Hugh Bonneville), the main presenter of Live at 6, which is sort of a newer version of The One Show. He is joined on the sofa by the younger (and as she puts it, “hotter”) co-presenter Madeline (Karen Gillan). During the first episode, it emerges that at a family wedding, Douglas got drunk and made a sexist joke, which a passerby overheard and tweeted. Luckily for Douglas, the person who wrote the tweet didn’t have many followers and so few people saw it – until Madeline retweeted it.

What follows are three more episodes with one overarching question: who holds the power? Douglas or Madeline? As the series progresses, the severity of the situation increases, culminating in a chess match-style interview between Douglas and Madeline in episode four. Upon discovering the tweet, Bonneville’s character is blissfully unaware of the power of social media and the effect it could have on him. Fans of W1A, Paddington or many other things he has done will know that the actor can play unhappy characters very well.

The standout performance in Douglas Is Canceled is probably Karen Gillan. She gave a lot to do and viewers used to seeing her as Amy Pond in Doctor Who, or Nebula in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, will be surprised by her work here. In the first half of the series, you don’t understand why Gillan’s character, Madeline, would turn on her so-called “best friend” and you kind of resent her for it.

As the series progresses, we quickly understand why and quickly find ourselves rooting for Madeline, the actress demonstrating one of the best acting talents I have ever seen in episodes three and four. Although Gillan’s character seems to embody feminism, Madeline herself admits that this is not the case. She repeatedly says that she believes in “human rights” and not women’s rights.

Overall, I enjoyed Douglas Is Cancelled, but given that it came from the brain of Steven Moffat, one of my favorite writers, I always thought I would. Much like most of the author’s other works, it’s really well-crafted and keeps you wanting to keep watching episode after episode. Not only does the show have a solid main cast, but it also has some great supporting actors like Alex Kingston as Sheila, Ben Miles as Toby (who really scares you in episode three), and Madeleine Power who plays Douglas and Sheila’s daughter Claudia, a product of modern society who will probably be considered a “snowflake” by many.

A good show is one that makes you feel something, and truth be told, after watching Douglas Is Canceled, I felt slightly anxious about the types of things I was putting on the Internet. The four-part programme, which begins terrestrial broadcast on ITV1 on Thursday June 27, should serve as a stark reminder that you might want to be careful about everything you say/post because you never know who is watching or listening.

Douglas Is Canceled is available to watch on ITVX. For the latest TV and showbiz news, sign up to our newsletter.