McCann has published at least 17 books. His 1988 biography of
Marilyn Monroe was the first to approach her life from a sociological perspective. This subject was revisited in his chapter "Biographical Boundaries: Sociology and Marilyn Monroe" in
The Body: Social Processes and Cultural Theory published in 1991. He followed this with a biography of
Woody Allen (1991), and with
Rebel Males (1993), an analysis of the influence of
Montgomery Clift,
Marlon Brando and
James Dean and their transformative role in moving the masculine heroic role in American popular culture closer to a sensitivity associated with bisexuality. He received praise for his 1997 biography of
Cary Grant,
A Class Apart. Andrea Highbie of
The New York Times described the book as "well-researched", while
Publishers Weekly considered it a more comprehensive account than Geoffrey Wansell's
Cary Grant: Dark Angel book. Many of McCann's books concern British television, especially comedians and comedy series.
HarperCollins describe him as "Britain's leading writer about film and TV". He has published biographies of
Morecambe and Wise (1998),
John Le Mesurier (''Do You Think That's Wise?
, 2010) and Terry-Thomas (Bounder!
, 2008). In 2004, he published a biography of comic Frankie Howerd. Simon Callow writing for The Guardian'' noted the book's "occasional tantalising glimpses of his friendships" and "gamely attempts to sketch the broad outlines of Howerd's sex-life". In 2001 he published ''
Dad's Army – The Story of a Classic Television Show
. He has also authored Only Fools and Horses: The Untold Story of Britain's Favourite Comedy
(2011), Fawlty Towers (2012), A Very Courageous Decision: The Inside Story of
Yes Minister and Still
Open All Hours: The Story of a Classic Comedy
both (2014), and has edited a book containing material by the comedian Dave Allen (The Essential Dave Allen'', 2005). McCann has written numerous articles about politics and popular culture for
The Guardian,
Evening Standard,
The Independent,
The Daily Telegraph,
Daily Express,
The Sunday Times,
The Observer,
The Washington Post,
The Times Literary Supplement,
The Modern Review,
Sight & Sound,
Radical Philosophy and the
New Statesman. during the early 2000s he was the television critic for the
Financial Times. In May 2015 he was awarded the "Best Correspondents prize" at the
Leicester Comedy Festival on a writing piece which documented his discovery that
Roy Clarke had been commissioned to write a sitcom for
Morecambe and Wise, a project which was never finalised. ==Published works (Alphabetical by title)==