Ed Gamble and Joanne McNally have teamed up for a new TLC panel show, Unacceptable, which they describe as a satirical take on cancel culture. The show features six comedians intentionally provoking the studio audience with their most offensive opinions, vying to win over the crowd.
Who might be offended?
When asked who might be offended by the show, McNally and Gamble quipped, 'I don’t think men or women should tune in. Single mums shouldn’t tune in.' The show's premise is simple: comedians bring their most controversial takes to the table. Examples include Romesh Ranganathan arguing the Royal Family isn't paid enough, Katherine Ryan suggesting all men should have vasectomies at birth, and Harriet Kemsley claiming single mums are lazy — Kemsley herself is a single mum.
The chemistry of the cast
Gamble hosts the show, acting as a mediator between team captains McNally and Richard Ayoade. The trio have distinct comedic styles: Gamble is charming and witty, McNally is razor-sharp, and Ayoade is deadpan. Despite their differences, Gamble believes the lineup works. 'The line-up between hosts and team captains is so funny to me, because I don’t think you’d see any of us in a room outside of the show,' he said. He added that while he and McNally would be together, 'Joanne and Richard absolutely not.' McNally agreed, saying, 'I still don’t know how to read Richard, and I don’t think he knows how to read me, but that’s hilarious, and I think that’s why it works.'
Rising stars
Gamble's popularity has soared since co-hosting the podcast Off Menu with James Acaster, which has attracted Hollywood guests like Robert De Niro and Kate Winslet. He now hosts Traitors Uncloaked, a spin-off that draws higher ratings than Love Island. McNally's podcast My Therapist Ghosted Me with Vogue Williams has also been a hit. She recently filmed the second series of Celebrity Traitors, which she expects will boost her fame. 'I remember Graham Norton said to me once, “You don’t do any telly. Is that your own choice, or lack of interest or lack of offers?”' McNally recalled. 'I wasn’t doing TV, and I think in a way it’s a good thing, because I went off and built my own little thing.' That 'little thing' has grown: she sold enough tickets for Hammersmith Apollo to fill Wembley Stadium, and her previous tour holds the record for most alcohol sold at the London Palladium.
Inclusivity for new comedians
Unacceptable aims to be inclusive of rising comedians at a time when television has been criticized for not taking risks on new talent. The series includes Vittorio Angeloni, who went viral for humiliating former Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt on The Last Leg, and Fatiha El-Ghorri, a hijab-wearing Muslim woman known for her cutting sets. Gamble acknowledged that many panel shows avoid booking inexperienced comics, but Unacceptable has room for them. 'You definitely need some sort of experience with television, or experience on the circuit, and also to know people before you get into doing panel shows,' he said. 'A three-hour studio record teaches you that if you throw something out early on and it doesn’t get anything, it doesn’t matter. You’ve just got to keep going. Whereas a newer comic might throw something out, not get anything, and then completely climb off.'
McNally added, 'The amount of inner dialogue going on, the self-loathing and the self-flagellation when you’re new to panel shows.' She recalled a comedian who went mute for 40 minutes during his first panel show. 'They are weirdly pressurised. It’s weird to call comedy panel shows serious because, of course, they’re not, but for us they can feel very serious, very competitive, like a blood sport.'
McNally's gullibility
McNally admitted her gullibility is a weakness. 'My manager moved my hotel once because it was near a Scientology centre, and they knew I’d wander in,' she said. 'I was very much convinced 9/11 was an inside job up until not that long ago.'
Unacceptable launches July 5 on TLC.
