Beauty

Nicola Coughlan’s new show will explore the ‘manosphere’ from a female perspective – it’s about time

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On March 17, 2026

Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan is set to star in a new Channel 4 show exploring the manosphere through a female perspective, Deadline reports. Hallelujah! No shade to Louis Theroux’s Inside The Manosphere or Jack Thorne’s Adolescence – each show triggered an important conversation about modern masculinity – but it’s high time we got a proper look at how the manosphere impacts women and girls. And Nicola Coughlan is just the person to do it.

Coughlan is set to led the fourth series of Channel 4’s I Am…, a critically-acclaimed anthology series that explores societal issues faced by modern women. The latest instalment is called I Am Helen, with Coughlan in the titular role starring opposite Joe Cole (Peaky Blinders, Skins), Helen’s love interest, who gets sucked into the all-consuming world of the manosphere. Channel 4 has yet to confirm the plot – or indeed a release date – for I Am Helen.

Created by filmmaker Dominic Savage, each episode of I Am… is written in collaboration with the leading actress – a role previously played by the likes of Vicky McClure (2019), Letitia Wright (2021), and Kate Winslet (2022), who even won a BAFTA for her performance.

Lately, there’s been a renewed interest in the manosphere – especially after the release of Louis Theroux’s latest documentary, Inside The Manosphere, which focuses on the men who profit from it. For all it’s strengths, some viewers felt the documentary missed the mark, as it failed to properly interrogate how the manosphere impacts women and girls. In the same vein, the 2025 Netflix drama Adolescence received widespread acclaim for it’s depiction of the online radicalisation of a young boy, Jamie, accused of murdering a girl, Katie, from his school. The show focused on the fallout of Jamie’s life; not the loss of Katie’s.

When we’re talking about the manosphere, we’re generally referring to a loose web of digital spaces that claim to address men’s issues, from fatherhood to body image and mental health. These communities often position women’s rights as a direct threat to men’s socio-political status and wellbeing. Hence, the socially regressive attitudes promoted by men in the manosphere, such as Harrison Sullivan (HSTikkyTokky), Myron Gaines, and Justin Waller.

If the reports are true, I Am Helen will be one of the first TV shows on a mainstream channel that examines the manosphere through the lens of women and girls.

Here’s everything we know about Channel 4’s I Am Helen, including plot, cast, and release date…

What is I Am Helen about?

I Am Helen will reportedly follow Helen (Coughlan) as she deals with her partner (Cole) slowly falling deeper into the manosphere, exploring how online misogyny can infect modern-day relationships.

Gemma Boswell, Commissioning Editor, Channel 4 Drama at Channel 4, said: “We are delighted to welcome back Dominic Savage alongside the supremely talented Nicola Coughlan in I Am Helen. The I Am series is a powerful and timely portrait of our times, and we are thrilled to have the powerhouse combination of Dominic and Nicola to tell such a distinctive and impactful story.”