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INSIDE THIS ISSUE Horoscopes....................................................... 2 Now Streaming................................................. 2 Puzzles............................................................. 4

‘Jurassic Park’ still brings the thrills

‘Born Again’ vigilantism: Daredevil returns to political change on Disney+

Diverging paths: Host Phil Keoghan puts a fork in Season 37 of ‘The Amazing Race’

TV Schedules..................................................... 5 Top 10.............................................................. 6 Home Video...................................................... 7 Comics..............................................................8

March 01 – March 07, 2025

Trial by media: British newsroom dramedy ‘Douglas Is Cancelled’ gets North American premiere BY DANA SIMPSON In this age of social media dominance, at least a minutiae of media literacy is encouraged among the masses. Whereas ‘90s and ‘00s parents once cautioned their children to “surf the net” safely, watching for catfishers, child predators and information-stealing bots, it is the elder generations who now often find themselves in hot water online. From teens with trendy TikTok accounts and Instagram feeds to social justice warriors with live streams and informational YouTube videos, cameras are everywhere and chances are that if you have said or done something foolish in public, it has already been committed to the digital record. Just ask Douglas Bellowes (Hugh Bonneville, “Downton Abbey”) — he knows all about it. “Douglas Is Cancelled,” the hit British series that first aired last summer on iTV abroad, premieres Thursday, March 6, on BritBox. Described by the Guardian as a show “you might hate ... for daring to exist,” “Douglas Is Cancelled” chronicles the multi-level undoing of one of Britain’s best-known and most respectfully sombre news readers, the titular Douglas Bellowes, after a crude joke he made at a wedding was captured on video and shared with the world. Potentially made worse by his

younger, more aware co-host Madeline Crow (Karen Gillan, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” 2023), Douglas’s social media snafu quickly escalates to the point of interference with his career, his family and his hard-earned reputation as a staunch man of the people. “Douglas is a perfectly decent, pleasant man who’s doing a good job and is well liked for what he does,” Bonneville told iTV press in a statement ahead of the show’s U.K. release. “Is he smug? I wouldn’t say so. Unguardedly confident? Definitely. But just as the dinosaurs didn’t know they were a dying breed, Douglas is blithely unaware that the next generation is smarter, more streetwise and capable of sheer ruthlessness when the chips are down.” One such member of the next generation is Madeline, who is described by her portrayer as “a very determined” woman “who set her sights on getting into this particular industry,” noting that “she went through a few experiences along the way that shaped her, and she quickly realized that she needed to harden up a little bit.” During a press interview with iTV, Gillan says, “When we meet [Madeline] at the start of this drama, you just can’t quite

get a read on her. The idea is that you don’t quite know what her motivations are, and you don’t quite know whether you can trust her or not. That was really fun to play.” Those watching the series have also reacted to the clever duality of the Madeline character, commenting, as did Guardian writer Lucy Mangan, that, “Whether [Madeline] is a manipulative careerist, simply sick of the sexism that surrounds her, or motivated by a genuine grievance is the question that builds around her.” Regardless of the answer, several reviews from the Guardian, to RadioTimes.com, to the common Redditor, hail Gillan as the shining light of the series. That said, the series is chockablock with captivating performances from a handful of well-respected actors. Alex Kingston (“ER”), for example, co-stars as Douglas’s wife, Sheila, a tabloid newspaper editor and fierce defender of those she loves; Ben Miles (“The Crown”) as Douglas and Madeline’s producer, Toby Patterson; Simon Russell Beale (“House of the Dragon”) as Bently Cassock, whom iTV dubbed “the worst agent in the world”; and Nick Mohammed (“Ted Lasso”) as Morgan, the news program’s not-so-funny comedy writer.

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