John Cleese, star of Monty Python and Fawlty Towers, is making a documentary for Channel 4 about “cancel culture” in comedy.
The series, to be titled John Cleese: Cancel Me, will explore “why a new ‘woke’ generation is trying to rewrite the rules on what can and can’t be said”, according to a press release.
The series will find Cleese in conversation with a range of famous faces, including some comedians who claim to have been “cancelled” by activists.
Cleese will also talk to those who have campaigned against certain figures and programmes, and attempt to determine whether it’s possible to create comedy without offending someone.
The comedy veteran said about his upcoming show: “I’m delighted to have a chance to find out, on camera, about all the aspects of so-called political correctness. There’s so much I really don’t understand, like: how the impeccable idea of ‘Let’s all be kind to people’ has been developed in some cases ad absurdum.
“I want to bring the various reasonings right out in the open so that people can be clearer in their minds what they agree with, what they don’t agree with, and what they still can’t make their mind up about.”
Cleese rose to fame in the 1970s as part of the Monty Python group of comedians alongside Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Graham Chapman and Terry Jones.
He later co-created the hit sitcom Fawlty Towers, which he also starred in.
