Steven Moffat has penned Douglas Is Cancelled, his first comedy series in two decades. More details within:
Before Steven Moffat became known for writing some of the greatest episodes of Doctor Who, like The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, The Girl In The Fireplace, Blink, Silence In The Library/Forest Of The Dead and then showrunning the Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi eras, he was a prolific comedy writer.
His first series, Press Gang, was a huge success and he followed it up by drawing on his own divorce for the fantastic, farcical Joking Apart. Though school sitcom Chalk was a misfire, he quickly went on to his his greatest sitcom success when he wrote Coupling, a tightly plotted ensemble sitcom that included one episode with half the dialogue in Hebrew and another in split screen, with several plots taking place simultaneously.
Since then, Doctor Who aside, he wrote a brilliant, somewhat underrated modern update of The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde called simply Jekyll, James Nesbitt’s duel performance is well worth watching if you’ve never had the pleasure. Arguably his greatest success, with Mark Gatiss, was Sherlock, which became a gargantuan hit all over the world.
Read more: Doctor Who and the terror of the Weeping Angels
Now, Moffat is returning to comedy with Douglas Is Cancelled. According to the British Comedy Guide, the synopsis reads as follows:
Douglas Bellowes (Hugh Bonneville), a respected newsreader and raconteur who loves the life he’s created with his newspaper editor wife, Sheila (Alex Kingston).
Despite being an experienced broadcaster, greying, middle-aged Douglas surprisingly needs constant reassurance behind the scenes on Live At Six, from his sharper, younger, tech-savvy and social media aware co-presenter Madeline (Karen Gillan), who seems able to wrap him around her little finger.
A national treasure who can seemingly do no wrong, Douglas enjoys his privileged status. Until that is, he makes an ill-advised joke at his cousin’s wedding, overheard by a fellow guest, who threatens to expose his comments on social media.
Douglas’ alleged indiscretion is dissected, analysed and blown out of all proportion in the subsequent digital storm.Can Douglas count on the support of his agent and colleagues or will he become a victim of “cancel culture”? And just what is Madeline’s motivation for posting socially on his behalf?
Bonneville, Kingston and Gillan previously worked with Moffat on Doctor Who, where they played Captain Henry Avery, River Song and companion Amy Pond, respectively. Ben Miles, who previously worked with Moffat on Coupling, Nick Mohammed and Simon Russell Beale are also in the cast.
Speaking about the show, Moffat said, “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.”
Produced through Moffat’s production company Hartswood, which he runs with his wife, producer Sue Vertue, the show is directed by Ben Palmer.
Douglas Is Cancelled will stream on ITVX next year.
In other Moffat news, you can see a revival run of his debut play The Unfriend at the at the Wyndham’s Theatre in London from the 16th December to the 8th March, starring Sarah Alexander, Lee Mack and Frances Barber. You can find out more details and buy tickets here.
