VIDEO: Joseph Fiennes as Michael Jackson in ‘Urban Myths’

Last year, actor Joseph Fiennes went on the defensive after news broke that he’d be starring as the late king of pop Michael Jackson in the British comedic series “Urban Myths.”

He told the Associated Press the topic was “sensitive,” but was “never intending it to be divisive.” “I deal in imagination, so I don’t think imagination should have rules stamped on them,” Fiennes said at the time. “If it promotes stereotyping, then it’s wrong. I made a distinction that the Jackson project doesn’t do that.”

The TV special sketch, which finally airs Jan. 19 on Britain’s Sky Arts, co-stars Stockard Channing as Elizabeth Taylor and Brian Cox as Marlon Brando in a 30-minute sketch with Fiennes in which their characters enact the fabled “story” of a road trip out of New York taken by the trio after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Taylor drives the car. In addition (I’ve not seen the show), the late Carrie Fisher, in one of her final performances, stars as a burger-flipping line cook in a Manhattan diner.

Here’s the official trailer:

Ben Palmer, who directs four episodes of the satirical comedy series is quoted in The Guardian also defending the casting of Fiennes:

“We were casting Michael Jackson in 2001 and that obviously is a challenge in terms of the physical resemblance. We were really looking for the performance that could unlock the spirit, and we really think Joe Fiennes has done that. He’s given a really sweet, nuanced, characterful performance.”

If that’s not enough, the comedy special also features a series of sketches starring Eddie Marsan as Bob Dylan, David Threlfall as Samuel Beckett, Ben Chaplin as Cary Grant, Iwan Rheon (“Game of Thrones”) as Adolf Hitler and Rupert Grint (“Harry Potter”) as Hitler’s friend, among others.

Social media reaction to the trailer has been potent.