Monty Python co-founder and Fawlty Towers creator John Cleese will examine cancel culture in a new TV series for Channel 4.
Titled John Cleese: Cancel Me, the docuseries is said to explore "why a new 'woke' generation is trying to rewrite the rules on what can and can't be said," according to a release [via Independent].
The 81-year-old comedian will speak with individuals campaigning to "cancel" problematic comedians and performers, as well as familiar figures who have been on the receiving end of a so-called cancellation.
Cleese said of the new series in a statement: "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."
He added: "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."
Last year, the comedian criticized the BBC Studios-owned UKTV after it removed a Fawlty Towers episode called "The Germans" from its Gold Box Set of downloadable programs, presumably for its use of racial slurs.
"We were not supporting his views, we were making fun of them," Cleese said of the episode at the time. "If they can't see that, if people are too stupid to see that, what can one say?"
Meanwhile, the comedian has been hanging out in Ontario's cottage country while working on a film project.
Titled John Cleese: Cancel Me, the docuseries is said to explore "why a new 'woke' generation is trying to rewrite the rules on what can and can't be said," according to a release [via Independent].
The 81-year-old comedian will speak with individuals campaigning to "cancel" problematic comedians and performers, as well as familiar figures who have been on the receiving end of a so-called cancellation.
Cleese said of the new series in a statement: "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."
He added: "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."
Last year, the comedian criticized the BBC Studios-owned UKTV after it removed a Fawlty Towers episode called "The Germans" from its Gold Box Set of downloadable programs, presumably for its use of racial slurs.
"We were not supporting his views, we were making fun of them," Cleese said of the episode at the time. "If they can't see that, if people are too stupid to see that, what can one say?"
Meanwhile, the comedian has been hanging out in Ontario's cottage country while working on a film project.