How Steven Moffat’s ‘Douglas Is Cancelled’ Tackles the ‘Heated Topic’ of ‘Cancel Culture’ With Dark Humor: ‘It’s Almost Like a Sport’

variety.com:

K.J. Yossman Steven Moffat began working on his new limited series “Douglas Is Cancelled” in 2018, before most people — Moffat included — had even heard of the term “cancel culture.” It was only later he realized his story — about a distinguished news anchor whose life is turned upside down when an unguarded comment goes viral — exemplified it. “At the time I wrote this, I wouldn’t have known the expression,” the screenwriter, best known for his work on fan favorites “Sherlock” and “Doctor Who,” tells Variety. “Obviously, [once I did] I co-opted it straight into the title.” The show follows the misadventures of Douglas Bellowes, played by Hugh Bonneville of “Paddington” and “Downton Abbey” fame.

After a rare verbal misstep at a wedding spirals out of control, he finds himself scrambling to salvage both his personal and professional lives.

Karen Gillan (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) also stars as Douglas’ ambitious and internet-savvy co-host Madeline. “What’s funny about this is you don’t know what he [actually] said until the end,” says Moffat. “So you can make up your mind [along the way] whether he should be canceled or not.” Having worked on two shows with vocal fan bases (“The tidal wave of vitriol we were subjected to, you wouldn’t even know about it,” he says of his experience on “Sherlock”), Moffat is used to intense reactions from his audiences, so he has no qualms about tackling a subject as febrile as cancel culture. “It’s a heated topic, and isn’t it funny that everyone has exactly the same opinion, really?” he says.

Nobody wants to be canceled, but “everybody wants to cancel somebody.” Executive producer Sue Vertue also knew the show was wading into a controversial topic but that didn’t stop her from getting on.