'Douglas Is Cancelled' Is a Damning Exploration of Sexual Harassment

Douglas is Cancelled, the new four-part series premiering on BritBox, is not the show you are expecting. It’s billed as a treatise on social media's capricious and damaging nature. Instead, it is the “me too” experience brought to horrific life. It is a blistering condemnation of what women endure in the workforce and how casually, cruelly and dismissively they are treated.

Long-time journalist Douglas Bellowes (Hugh Bonneville) and the young and beautiful Madeline (Karen Gillan) host a popular nighttime current events program Live at Six. They share a collegial, slightly flirtatious, occasionally witty banter. After Douglas attends his cousin’s wedding with his wife Sheila (Alex Kingston), someone tweets that Douglas was overheard saying a sexist joke. Of course, Twitter and tweeting are no longer the dominant form of social media scandal gossip — a sure sign that this series, which premiered in the UK last summer, was conceived a while ago by writer Steven Moffat (Doctor Who, Sherlock). Almost as a (post-production?) afterthought, the show occasionally references Twitter’s new name. “Or do we call it X now? I can’t keep up,” one character wonders.  

Douglas denies telling any offensive joke and doubles down, saying he doesn’t remember saying anything. “We can move in the direction of honesty once we’ve decided on the facts,” Toby (Ben Miles), the show's producer tells him. Douglas isn’t worried, convinced the story will “burn itself out.” And it might have if Madeline hadn’t decided to quote the original tweet with the comment “Don’t believe this. Not my co-presenter” to her two million followers. She claims she did this to help and support Douglas. 

Douglas’s wife Sheila (Alex Kingston) is a newspaper/tabloid editor who knows how quickly this story can take a wrong turn. It doesn’t help that she’s not a fan of her husband’s relationship with Madeline. While his 19-year-old daughter Claudia (Madeline Power) just wants to ensure her dad is telling her the truth. His agent Bentley (Simon Russell Beale, the only true comedic character) just wants to cover his own hide. “We release a carefully worded statement. . . explaining with great regret this agency is now severing its connection with Douglas Bellows due to his recent unacceptable remarks,” he tells Douglas about how his agency will handle the circumstances. 

Things go from bad to worse when comedy writer Morgan (Nick Mohammed) is brought in to come up with witty things for Douglas to say to mitigate the situation. Morgan’s idea of a clever joke is “No wonder they call it Twitter. It’s full of twits.” 

The first two installments have several moments of humor, and you can be lulled into thinking that what you are watching is, in fact, a comedy. Finally, it’s decided that the way to address the quickly escalating scandal is to have Madeline conduct a mock interview with Douglas so he is prepared for whatever may come his way. That’s when things start to get interesting.

But still nothing prepares you for the shocking tonal shift of the astonishing third episode. The subtext of all that viewers have witnessed so far is revealed. To say too much would diminish the power of the episode. Viewers may want to go back to more carefully watch what leads up to what they are witnessing. 

Society’s double standard is on full display. Douglas insists his joke, which he still swears he doesn’t remember, was sexist not misogynist. Morgan believes that using the word “twat” in a joke is okay. “It can mean someone so stupid you’re comparing them to lady parts. How is that demeaning?” he wonders. Madeline wants to know why a picture of her in a bikini is a news story. Claudia has to remind her father that “It’s not funny to make women feel sexually menanced.” Far too many characters claim to be feminist when they are the opposite of that. 

Outstanding performances support the series; Bonneville is terrific as expected. His Douglas is confident he’s done nothing wrong but still unsure how to fix the increasingly problematic situation. Viewers may equally sympathize with him and be infuriated by his behavior. Kingston explodes as a woman who knows things are spiraling out of her control. 

Mohammed uses that same bumbling cluelessness he brought to Ted Lasso to much more sinister effects. Miles is a revelation for reasons that can’t be spoiled. But, most notably, the phenomenal performance from Gillian carries the series. Madeline and her motivations remain somewhat of a mystery throughout the series. Her spitfire repartee with Douglas, who has long been her professional hero, sets him off balance. “One of us is hot. One of us is clever and unfortunately for you both of those are me,” she cheekily tells him. She claims she is trying to help Douglas, but is she? And if she’s not, why not?

The final, jaw-dropping moments of the series pull everything together. As what Douglas said is revealed, we slowly realize Madeline has been playing the long game. Douglas advises Madeline that the job is worth whatever she has to wade through. The series is too. 

Douglas is Cancelled premieres with two episodes on Thursday, March 6, 2025, on BritBox. The final two episodes stream one week later on Thursday, March 13, 2025.