Albasheer Show
Albasheer Show (Arabic: البشير شو) is an Iraqi news satire and talk show television program, which airs each Friday on DW Arabia.
Albasheer Show البشير شو | |
---|---|
Genre | Comedy, news satire, talk show |
Created by | Ahmad Al-Basheer |
Written by | Ahmed Albasheer |
Directed by | Andrée (earlier) |
Presented by | Ahmad Albasheer |
Starring | Thaer Shuaib Laith Jarala |
Country of origin | Iraq |
Original language(s) | Arabic |
No. of seasons | 6 |
No. of episodes | 142 |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Al-Hamza Mohammed Othman Albasheer |
Producer(s) | Othman Albasheer |
Production location(s) | Amman, Jordan |
Running time | 35–55 minutes |
Release | |
Original network | Al-Shahid Al-Mustaqil Al-Sumaria NRT Arabia DW Arabia |
Picture format | HDTV 1080i |
Original release | August 30, 2014 – present |
External links | |
Website | |
Lagash media production |
Hosted by Ahmad Al-Basheer, the show first premiered on August 30, 2014 on Al-Shahid Al-Mustaqil and YouTube until the end of season 1. The second season was not aired on a television network but was aired only on YouTube. The third season was agreed to air on DW Arabia and Al Sumaria but then later Al Sumaria managed to air only two episodes before it was shut down.[1][2][3] NRT Arabia started airing the show, along with DW Arabia, since June 24, 2016,[4] but the show was later shut down on NRT.[5] The show is still aired on DW Arabia from season four until now .
Being heavily based on the American television program, The Daily Show, and the Egyptian television program, Al Bernameg, Albasheer Show draws its comedy and satire from recent news stories, political figures, media organizations, and often uses self-referential humor as well. It typically opens with a long monologue, relating to recent headlines and frequently features exchanges with one or more correspondents, who adopted absurd or humorously exaggerated takes on current events against the presenter's straight man persona. The final segment was devoted to a celebrity interview, with guests ranging from actors and musicians to nonfiction authors and political figures.
Part of what makes Ahmad Al-Basheer and the show so popular—the audience sums to millions—is how relatable his personal suffering is to many Iraqis. During the now-protracted chaos that has engulfed Iraq, al-Basheer lost a brother to one terrorist attack and seven of his best friends in another, and watched his father die after the trauma of being kidnapped ruined his health. He himself was kidnapped and tortured for 40 days in 2005. But as Ahmed says, "instead of getting revenge with a weapon, I try to fix the situation so nobody has to go through the things I went through. Instead of turning violent...I see this as the best way to respond to all the killing."[6]
List of episodes
Season 1
No. | Title | Native title | Original air date | Guest(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sectarian Chicken | دجاج طائفي | August 30, 2014 | N/A |
2 | Presidential Circumsition | تطهير رئاسي | September 5, 2014 | N/A |
3 | Tallit | الطيلسان | September 29, 2014 | N/A |
4 | Fake Protests | مظاهرات وهمية | October 7, 2014 | N/A |
5 | Indonesian Eid | العيد الاندنوسي | October 11, 2014 | N/A |
6 | How To Fight ISIS | كيف نحارب داعش | October 17, 2014 | N/A |
7 | Know Your Ministers | تعرف على وزراءك | October 24, 2014 | N/A |
8 | The President's Alert | انذار الرئيس | November 7, 2014 | N/A |
9 | Khreetinious | خريطينيوس | November 14, 2014 | N/A |
10 | Tolerance | التسامح | November 21, 2014 | N/A |
11 | Us And The Emirates | نحن والامارات | November 28, 2014 | N/A |
12 | Alien Invasion | الغزو الفضائي | December 5, 2014 | N/A |
13 | We Are The Ones Who Nobody Can Touch Us | احنا المحد يندك بينا | December 15, 2014 | N/A |
14 | The Airplane Flies | الطيارة تطير | December 19, 2014 | N/A |
15 | Suspicious Puberty | مراهقة مريبة | December 22, 2014 | N/A |
16 | Conspiracies | مؤامرات | December 26, 2014 | N/A |
17 | Predictions | تنبؤات | December 29, 2014 | N/A |
18 | Predictions 2 | تنبؤات 2 | January 3, 2015 | Akhlad Raouf, Hassan Al-Falluji (UTN1) |
19 | Top 3 | توب 3 | January 5, 2015 | N/A |
20 | Dangerous Discoveries | اكتشافات خطيرة | January 9, 2015 | N/A |
21 | Their Signs | ابراجهم | January 13, 2015 | N/A |
22 | Young Men For Sale | شباب للبيع | January 16, 2015 | N/A |
23 | Haibat Haibeet | هيباط هيبيط | January 19, 2015 | N/A |
24 | A Stick In The Envier's Eye | الحسود بعينه عود | January 23, 2015 | N/A |
25 | The Budget's Solutions | حلول الموازنة | January 27, 2015 | N/A |
26 | Budget / Displaced | الموازنة / النازحين | February 1, 2015 | N/A |
Season 1.5 (Season 2)
No. | Title | Native title | Original air date | Guest(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Extortionater of Them | يا باهضهم | June 10, 2015 | Mark Critch |
2 | Liberation of Mosul | تحرير الموصل | June 20, 2015 | Khudhair Hadi |
3 | Episode 3 | الحلقة 3 | October 11, 2015 | Curtis Cook |
4 | Episode 4 | الحلقة 4 | October 20, 2015 | N/A |
5 | Our Leaders | قادتنا | January 15, 2016 | Haider Al-Mulla |
Season 3.2 (Season 3)
No. | Title | Native title | Original air date | Guest(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Technocrat | تكنوقراط | April 15, 2016 | Ali Al-Essawi |
2 | Mu'tasamada | معتصمادا | April 22, 2016 | N/A |
3 | Silencing The Mouths | تكميم الافواه | April 29, 2016 | N/A |
4 | The Extorted Parliament | البرلمان المغتصب | May 6, 2016 | Maamoun Al-Nattah |
5 | Media By The Ammo Sabah Way | الاعلام على طريقة عمو صباح | May 13, 2016 | N/A |
6 | What's The Topic | شنو الموضوع | May 20, 2016 | Aliya Nussayyif |
7 | Cut The Sound | اكطع الصوت | May 27, 2016 | N/A |
8 | Mithreedious | مثريديوس | June 3, 2016 | N/A |
9 | Metaphysics | ميتافيزيقية | June 10, 2016 | Shujaa Al-Khafaji |
10 | Th Red Wall | الحائط الاحمر | June 24, 2016 | Eva Kaili |
11 | Us And Bahrain | احنة والبحرين | July 1, 2016 | N/A |
12 | Karrada And The Detergent Detector | الكرادة وكاشف الزاهي | July 8, 2016 | Salim al-Jabouri |
13 | K-9 Took The Blame | كي ناين شال القضية | July 15, 2016 | N/A |
14 | The Legendary Hotness | الحر الاسطوري | July 22, 2016 | N/A |
15 | Massoum Where Is The Halqoom | معصوم وين الحلقوم | July 29, 2016 | Fareed Lafta |
16 | Abu Al-Kubba | ابو الكبة | August 5, 2016 | N/A |
17 | Repentance Only | توبة الا نصوحة | August 12, 2016 | N/A |
18 | Reputation And Oil | سمعة و نفط | August 19, 2016 | N/A |
19 | Five Clinks | خمسة كلينكس | August 27, 2016 | N/A |
20 | Hoshiar Park | هوشيار بارك | September 2, 2016 | N/A |
21 | Houthis Is Here | الحوثيين يمنا | September 9, 2016 | Claudia Roth |
22 | Al Maliki Show | المالكي شو | September 16, 2016 | N/A |
23 | Albasheer Show Emmy | ايمي البشير شو | September 23, 2016 | N/A |
24 | Affectionate Father | الاب الحنون | September 30, 2016 | Zainab Salbi |
25 | The Owner Of The Long Tunnel | صاحب النفق الطويل | October 7, 2016 | N/A |
26 | Take That, It's The Last One | هاك الاخيرة | October 14, 2016 | N/A |
27 | Best Clips Of Season Three | افضل مقاطع موسم 3.2 | October 21, 2016 | N/A |
28 | From Inside Albasheer Show | من داخل البشير شو | October 28, 2016 | N/A |
Season 4
No. | Title | Native title | Original air date | Guest(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Mission Is Not Impossible | المهمة مو مستحيلة | April 21, 2017 | Dr. Sabah Al-Tameemi |
2 | Umm Ahmed Is Our Cause | ام احمد قضيتنا | April 28, 2017 | Awad Al-Awadi |
3 | Tomato Commission | مفوضية الطماطة | May 5, 2017 | N/A |
4 | The Land Is Sold | مبيوعة الكاع | May 12, 2017 | Ibrahim Al-Effendi |
5 | The Iraqi Experience | التجربة العراقية | May 19, 2017 | N/A |
6 | Angels And Clans | ملائكة و عشائر | May 26, 2017 | N/A |
7 | Number Seven Is The Reason | رقم سبعة السبب | July 7, 2017 | N/A |
8 | The Hidden Shield | الدرع الخفي | June 2, 2017 | Raad And Methak |
9 | Ramadan Competitions | مسابقات رمضان | June 9, 2017 | Joe Raad |
10 | Detachable Void | انفصال باطل | June 16, 2017 | N/A |
11 | The Poorest Party On The Planet | افقر حزب بالكرة الارضية | June 23, 2017 | N/A |
12 | Hot Clips | مقاطع ساخنة | July 14, 2017 | Larry Charles |
13 | The Shaded Train | القطار المظلل | July 21, 2017 | Sarwa Abdel Wahed |
14 | The Sad Week | الاسبوع الحزين | July 28, 2017 | N/A |
15 | Under The Razor | تحت موس الحلاق | August 4, 2017 | Maysoon Al-Damluji |
16 | Wak Iqbal | وك اقبال | August 11, 2017 | Joseph Saliwa |
17 | Anbar And Basra | الانبار و البصرة | August 18, 2017 | N/A |
18 | The Rice | التمن | August 25, 2017 | Rehab Al-Abouda and Razan Sheikh Delir |
19 | Buses | الباصات | September 8, 2017 | N/A |
20 | Albasheer Show Emmy 2 | ايمي البشير شو 2 | September 15, 2017 | N/A |
21 | Kurdistan Referendum | استفتاء كردستان | September 22, 2017 | N/A |
22 | The Big Plot | المؤامرة الكبرى | September 29, 2017 | N/A |
23 | Religious Or Civil Parties | الاحزاب الدينية او المدنية | October 6, 2017 | Mohamed Masoud Jomaa |
24 | Friday The 13th | الجمعة الـ13 | October 13, 2017 | N/A |
25 | The Time That We Messed It | زمان لعبنا به | October 20, 2017 | Hussam Al-Rassam |
26 | Our Stages | مراحلنا | October 27, 2017 | N/A |
27 | The Most Beautiful Clips Of The Season | أجمل مقاطع الموسم 4 | November 3, 2017 | N/A |
Season 5
No. | Title | Native title | Original air date | Guest(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Am Back For Them | راجعلهم | March 30, 2018 | N/A |
2 | Electoral Circumcision | طهور انتخابي | April 6, 2018 | N/A |
3 | Service | خدمة | April 13, 2018 | Falah Almashal |
4 | We Can Do This | احنا كدها | April 20, 2018 | Laith Aldilamy |
5 | What Have You Done To Us ? | شسويتولنا | April 27, 2018 | Dr.Ali Alrufaie |
6 | The Person That's Been Chosen Doesn't Chosen Again | المجرب لا يجرب | May 4, 2018 | Hamad Al-Mosawi |
7 | That's Enough | كافي | May 11, 2018 | Shorouq Alabaiji |
8 | Tuk Tuk | تك تك | May 18, 2018 | N/A |
9 | Gloating | شماتة | May 25, 2018 | N/A |
10 | Cook | طبخة | June 1, 2018 | Ali Almansory |
11 | Iraq To Where ? | العراق الى اين | June 29, 2018 | N/A |
12 | The Clean Episode | الحلقة النظيفة | July 6, 2018 | N/A |
13 | Heat | حرارة | July 13, 2018 | N/A |
14 | Country Demonstrations | مظاهرات وطن | July 20, 2018 | N/A |
15 | How We Demonstration ? | كيف نتظاهر | July 27, 2018 | N/A |
16 | Corrupt Ministry | وزارة مضروبة | August 3, 2018 | N/A |
17 | The Miracle Child | الطفل المعجزة | August 10, 2018 | Husam Alhaj |
18 | We And Iran | احنا و ايران | August 17, 2018 | N/A |
19 | Wonders And Marvels | عجائب و غرائب | August 24, 2018 | Bassem Khashan and Fares Haram |
20 | Contamination | تلوث | August 31, 2018 | Mohamad Alfaras |
21 | Ferris Wheel | دولاب الهواء | September 7, 2018 | N/A |
22 | Soleimani And McGurk | سليماني و ماكغورك | September 14, 2018 | N/A |
23 | The Young President | الشاب الرئيس | September 21, 2018 | N/A |
24 | My Resignation | استقالتي | September 28, 2018 | N/A |
25 | Wiiiii | ويييييي | October 5, 2018 | N/A |
26 | The Last Meeting | اللقاء الاخير | October 12, 2018 | N/A |
27 | Everything Behind The Scene | الكواليس كالوس كالوس | October 19, 2018 | N/A |
28 | The Season Clips | مقاطع الموسم | October 26, 2018 | N/A |
Season 6
No. | Title | Native title | Original air date | Guest(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Republic | الجمهورية | July 19, 2019 | N/A |
2 | Punishments | العقوبات | July 26, 2019 | N/A |
3 | Government The WhatsApp | حكومة الواتساب | August 2, 2019 | N/A |
4 | The Dreams | الاحلام | August 9, 2019 | N/A |
5 | The Court | المحكمة | August 16, 2019 | N/A |
6 | Achievements | الإنجازات | August 30, 2019 | Zahra Habib Ben Mime |
7 | The Guessing | الحزورة | September 6, 2019 | N/A |
8 | Crimes | جرائم | September 13, 2019 | N/A |
9 | The Speed Era | عصر السرعة | September 20, 2019 | N/A |
10 | Iraq Is Rising | العراق ينتفض | October 4, 2019 | N/A |
11 | Dictatorship | الدكتاتورية | October 11, 2019 | N/A |
12 | The Arguments Of Adel | تركيعات دلدل | October 18, 2019 | N/A |
13 | The Final Report | التقرير النهائي | October 25, 2019 | N/A |
14 | awakening of people | صحوة شعب | November 1, 2019 | N/A |
15 | Scapegoat | كبش الفداء | November 8, 2019 | N/A |
16 | Not That Much | مو هلثوخون | November 15, 2019 | Olena Sotnyk |
17 | Pistachio Government | حكومة فستق | November 22, 2019 | N/A |
18 | We Are Where We Are | نحن حيث نحن | December 6, 2019 | N/A |
19 | Punishments 2 | العقوبات الجزء الثاني | December 13, 2019 | N/A |
20 | Treasury Demonstrations | مظاهرات الخزانة | December 20, 2019 | N/A |
21 | The Cassettee Revolution | ثورة الكاسيت | December 27, 2019 | N/A |
22 | We annoyed them | ازعجناهم | January 3, 2020 | N/A |
23 | The Great Generation | جيل الطيبين | January 10, 2020 | Bilal Wahab |
24 | Duldul and China | دلدل والصين | January 17, 2020 | N/A |
25 | Psychological Problems | مشاكل نفسية | January 24, 2020 | Joey Hood |
26 | Hear And Obedience | سمعاً و طاعة | January 31, 2020 | N/A |
27 | The Republic Scenes | مشاهد الجمهورية | February 7, 2020 | N/A |
28 | Behind The Scenes | كواليس الجمهورية | February 14, 2020 | N/A |
Reception
The humor used by Albasheer in the show, such as dark sarcasm, local stereotypes, absurdities, and awkward sexual innuendos, coupled with the relatability of Albasheer's personal suffering, is what made the show popular amongst Iraqis.[7] Albasheer's outspoken political satire empowered many Iraqis to not feel scared and to continue to protest.[8][9]
The show mocks several violent groups,[10] such as ISIS, who controlled the Iraqi city of Mosul from 2014 to 2017.[11] ISIS sent several death threats to Albasheer and banned the show in 2 but Iraqis continued to watch.[12] In Ramadi, another Iraqi city, the show was considered an apostate program, meaning that anyone found watching it would be flogged.[13]
The Iraqi authorities also did not approve of the content presented by Albasheer as a politically motivated court case was launched against him for producing the show.[14] This court case led to Albasheer being imprisoned for four days.[15] In 2017, the Iraqi Communications and Media Commission sent a letter threatening to stop airing the show in Iraq and pursue legal action against Albasheer if the violations of the show did not stop.[16] However, the letter did not specify what these violations consisted of.[17] The show experienced many interruptions due to such frequent changes in broadcasters, court cases, and death threats.[18] However, many of the Iraqi politicians who were made fun of in the Albasheer Show have changed their behaviour as a response to the show.[19][20]
References
- "عربية DW قريبا: "البشير شو" على" (in Arabic). Deutsche Welle. 7 April 2016.
- "السومرية تنطلق ببث برنامج "البشير شو" بالتعاون مع DW الالمانية" (in Arabic). Alsumaria. 7 April 2016.
- هيئة الاعلام والاتصالات تقرر ايقاف برنامج البشير شو (in Arabic). Alsumaria. 25 April 2016.
- "عربية تبدأ بعرض برنامج البشير شو NRT قناة" (in Arabic). NRT. 22 June 2016.
- "lnaiq". وكالة اخر الاخبار. 2017-08-10.
- https://www.the-american-interest.com/2017/10/06/baghdad-burlesque/
- Kalian, Yousif (2017-10-06). "Baghdad Burlesque?". The American Interest. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
- Rosenberg, Tina (2019-12-26). "Opinion | 'You Are Killing Us? We Will Make You a Joke.' Meet Ahmed Albasheer". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
- Sky, Emma (11 October 2019). "The enemies at home". New Statesman. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
- Sky, Emma (11 October 2019). "The enemies at home". New Statesman. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
- "Risking one's life for a laugh". www.tea-after-twelve.com (in German). Retrieved 2020-05-14.
- "Risking one's life for a laugh". www.tea-after-twelve.com (in German). Retrieved 2020-05-14.
- Kalian, Yousif (2017-10-06). "Baghdad Burlesque?". The American Interest. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
- Kalian, Yousif (2017-10-06). "Baghdad Burlesque?". The American Interest. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
- Kalian, Yousif (2017-10-06). "Baghdad Burlesque?". The American Interest. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
- "Gale General OneFile - Document - Iraqi regulator threatens TV satirist with legal action". go.gale.com. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
- "Gale General OneFile - Document - Iraqi regulator threatens TV satirist with legal action". go.gale.com. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
- Kalian, Yousif (2017-10-06). "Baghdad Burlesque?". The American Interest. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
- Kalian, Yousif (2017-10-06). "Baghdad Burlesque?". The American Interest. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
- "Risking one's life for a laugh". www.tea-after-twelve.com (in German). Retrieved 2020-05-14.