ITV’s Douglas Is Cancelled viewers left disenchanted over script
Viewers of ITV‘s Douglas is Cancelled have been left disappointed over the ‘boring’ and ‘unfunny’ script and have taken to social media to demand to know the joke that Hugh Bonneville‘s character made.
The new show tells the story of a ‘national treasure’ news presenter who is left fighting to save his career and reputation after accusations that he made a sexist joke go viral.
The four episodes then follow Bellowe’s relationship with Madeline Crow – his younger, more dynamic colleague portrayed by Karen Gillan – and how it changes after news of his alleged wrongdoing first emerges.
But the mini series has disappointed audiences hoping for an exciting first episode.
The series, created by Sherlock writer Steven Moffat left many wishing the show itself was cancelled and described it as ‘really bloody awful’ and ‘unfunny and awkward’.
Douglas is Cancelled stars Hugh Bonneville as Douglas Bellowe while Karen Gillan appears as Madeline Crow, his co-anchor
The shows has a stellar cast. Pictured: Ben Miles from The Crown (front left), Doctor Who’s Alex Kingston (far right) and the actor and comedian Nick Mohammed (left)
The show follows a news presenter who is left fighting to save his career after accusations he made a sexist joke go viral
Viewers took to X to vent their frustrations at the first episode of the show starring Hugh Bonneville
Within the first 30 minutes of the premiere, viewers had taken to X to share their thoughts.
One viewer wrote: ‘Awful!! Simply awful.’ while anotherdescribed it as ‘not funny’.
Others were harsher and wrote: ‘Just wasted an hour of my life watching Douglas is Canceled on ITV what a load of rubbish’.
Many posted that they couldn’t even make it through the first episode and gave up watching
Douglas is Cancelled courted controversy earlier this month when its writer discussed the inspiration behind the series but refused to name who it was based on.
Referring to the real-life character who inspired the comedy drama, Moffatt told the Royal Television Society Magazine: ‘It’s not the main part of the plot, but he was caught misbehaving and thought it might come up in an interview, so he had to have a rehearsal interview with a junior colleague.
‘I was fascinated with the idea of how on earth that would work.’
The Sherlock and Doctor Who screenwriter said he is fascinated with cancel culture and told The Sunday Times that you can only cancel those who feel shame and pointed out that it would be impossible to cancel Hitler or Donald Trump.
Some were scathing in their criticism and said the show itself should be cancelled
The show was written by Doctor Who and Sherlock screenwriter Steven Moffat who has remained tight-lipped about the inspiration behind it. Pictured: Alex Kingston
Fans have taken to social media to guess who Bonneville’s character could be based on
He added: ‘We’re outraged when someone who thinks the way we do is cancelled, but we’re perfectly happy to cancel someone else.
‘But cancellation only works on people who are capable of shame and wish to be well thought of.’
And that’s why the writer has revealed that viewers won’t learn what Bonneville’s character actually says until the final episode, allowing the audience to decide whether he deserved to be cancelled or not.
Douglas is Cancelled, which aired tonight, features an impressive cast including Ben Miles from The Crown, Doctor Who’s Alex Kingston and the actor and comedian Nick Mohammed.
