Nicola Coughlan and Joe Cole in I Am Helen © Channel 4

Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan To Star In New Channel 4 Manosphere Drama

55 minutes ago

Here's what to expect from the chilling new drama

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Bridgerton's Nicola Coughlan To Star In New Channel 4 Manosphere Drama

Nicola Coughlan and Joe Cole in I Am Helen © Channel 4

The manosphere. We read about it in the news. Fret about it in long-form features. And tune into documentaries and podcasts detailing its misogynistic mantra. But it’s most terrifying when it begins to slip into our day-to-day lives: when friends share stories of Andrew-Tate-defending housemates, and boys you once knew slowly start to sink down the online rabbit hole.

The manosphere and its real-world impacts are the issue at the core of Channel 4’s new drama: I Am Helen. Starring Nicola Coughlan (of Derry Girls and Bridgerton fame) alongside Joe Cole (best-known as John Shelby in Peaky Blinders) this series explores the realities of toxic masculinity from a female lens, examining the pressures and expectations placed on women while confronting the damage that the manosphere can wreak on modern relationships.

Nicola Coughlan in I Am Helen © Channel 4

What Is Channel 4’s I Am Series?

The Channel 4 kickstarted its I Am series back in 2019. The first of the seven anthology series was I Am Nicola. Starring Vicky McClure (Line of Duty and This Is England), the drama followed its titular character as she navigated freeing herself from a coercive relationship. The following series (Kirsty, Hannah, Victoria, Danielle, Maria and Ruth) have starred Samatha Morton, Gemma Chan, Suranne Jones, Letitia Wright, Lesley Manville and Kate Winslet, respectively. The I Am series became Channel 4’s most successful new 10pm drama in six years following its 2019 debut.

Each instalment follows a woman struggling against some aspect of her life – spanning topics from mental health and fertility to toxic relationships, social media and ageing. If the previous seasons are anything to go by, I Am Helen is set to continue the show’s legacy of authentically exploring the personal experiences of women through provocative, emotionally raw storytelling.

The most recent series starred Kate Winslet as Ruth against her real-life daughter Mia Threapleton, who played Freya. Winslet played a concerned mother who witnesses her daughter slowly retreat into herself as she becomes consumed by the pressures of social media. It went on to win multiple Bafta and RTS awards, including best single drama.

What Is I Am Helen About?

The most recent instalment will be the first since Kate Winslet’s turn in 2022. The series tells the story of Helen, a woman in a five-year relationship who’s recently clocked some changes in her boyfriend, Steve’s, behaviour. The drama promises to explore the experience within a world shaped by masculine power, aggression, control and emotional manipulation.

Though she attempts to play down the issues when chatting to a friend, referring to it as little more than a ‘rough patch’, the reality of the situation soon reveals itself to be far darker. Her once-loving partner is suddenly lashing out, screaming at her, and repeating Tate-ian mantras such as: ‘I can’t do anything right because I’m a man’. His behaviour becomes increasingly controlling and dangerous, as Helen is forced to make a decision regarding her own safety.

Created, written and directed by Bafta-winning filmmaker Dominic Savage, Coughlan also contributed to the development of this poignant story. Speaking about the upcoming series, Coughlan said: ‘It’s an absolute honour to be part of telling the next I Am… story alongside Dominic Savage – a singular talent and a storyteller deeply committed to exploring the breadth of the female experience. To follow in the footsteps of the brilliant women who’ve collaborated with him on this series feels truly surreal, and I feel incredibly fortunate to be embarking on this journey.’

Gemma Boswell, commissioning editor for Drama at Channel 4, praised Savage and Coughlan as a ‘powerhouse’ team, before adding that the ‘distinctive and impactful story’ would be a ‘powerful and timely portrait of our times’.