Joanne McNally and Ed Gamble are bracing for potential backlash over their new panel show Unacceptable, where comedians compete to be as offensive as possible. 'I don't think men or women should tune in. Single mums shouldn't tune in,' McNally told Metro, joking about who might be offended.
The premise is simple: six comedians intentionally try to provoke by bringing their most controversial opinions to the table, aiming to sway a studio audience. 'There's cancel culture and all that jazz, so this is a very satirical take on that,' McNally explained. 'It's light-hearted, there's no fascism.'
Controversial Takes and a Unique Line-Up
The show features bold statements: Romesh Ranganathan argues the Royal Family isn't paid enough; Katherine Ryan suggests all men should have vasectomies at birth; and Harriet Kemsley, herself a single mum, claims single mothers are lazy. Gamble hosts, mediating between team captains McNally and Richard Ayoade.
The trio's chemistry is key. McNally and Gamble are close, finishing each other's sentences, while Ayoade's deadpan style contrasts sharply. '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,' Gamble said, before adding that he and McNally would socialize, but 'Joanne and Richard absolutely not.'
McNally agreed: '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 of Podcasting and TV
Both comedians have built massive followings through podcasts. Gamble co-hosts Off Menu with James Acaster, which has attracted guests like Robert De Niro and Kate Winslet, and now hosts Traitors Uncloaked. McNally's podcast My Therapist Ghosted Me with Vogue Williams has fueled her career; she recently filmed Celebrity Traitors series two.
McNally recalled advice from Graham Norton: 'You don't do any telly. Is that your own choice, or lack of interest or lack of offers?' She chose to build her own audience. This year, 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. 'TV is chasing the audience that comics already have,' she said.
A 'Baptism of Fire' for Panel Show Newcomers
McNally shared her early struggles: 'I was booked to be an understudy for 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown for a whole series. You have to bring a prop, so I just kept getting the train up and down to Manchester with my baby, the ceramic head of a child. I never made it on the show. So you're praying illness on the cast.'
Unacceptable aims to include rising comedians like Vittorio Angeloni and Fatiha El-Ghorri. Gamble acknowledged the pressure on newcomers: '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.' McNally added, 'The amount of inner dialogue going on, the self-loathing and the self-flagellation when you're new to panel shows. 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.'
A Light-Hearted Game of Persuasion
The show avoids competitiveness; in the first episode, the starry line-up doesn't vie to be loudest. The game plays to McNally's gullibility. 'My manager moved my hotel once because it was near a Scientology centre, and they knew I'd wander in. I was very much convinced 9/11 was an inside job up until not that long ago,' she admitted.
Unacceptable launches tonight at 9pm on TLC.
