Seven to air ‘outrageous sitcom’ about Muslim community leader
The Seven Network is to air a sitcom about the “hilarious antics” of a self-appointed Muslim community leader.
According to the description of the show:
“Citizen Khan follows the trials and tribulations of self-appointed Muslim community leader Mr Khan and his long-suffering family. Things would be so much easier if everyone listened to him and followed his lead, but his obsessively house-proud wife and two feisty daughters have other ideas. He finds a refuge of sorts in the local mosque run by new mosque manager Dave – who to Mr Khan’s chagrin is not only white, but ginger.”
The show has been bought from BBC Worldwide. The first series of six episodes aired in the UK earlier this year. A further seven episodes have been commissioned.
I can’t decide if it’s more offensive to racial stereotypes or to comedy itself.
Funny or not? Looks like ‘not’ to me.
There’s also the long running Canadian series Little Mosque on The Prairie (just finished it’s sixth and final season).
It’s rather ‘worthy’ but still has its funny moments. I’m surprised it hasn’t even had a run on SBS in Australia.
Given that Seven’s depiction of the world’s one billion Muslims has been, thus far, exclusively as either quasi-terrorists or benefit cheats, this is, I suppose, a slight improvement.
But we are talking a very low bar.
How about, you know, showing them as normal people? Or is the sight of anything other than suburban white families too horrific to contemplate for the delicate Australian public?
Every time there’s a sitcom with non-Anglo characters, the whining middle-class left, the self-appointed arbiters of culture come out of the woodwork and scream “Racist”.
It’s mostly because their world view precludes any sense of humour, and any sense that humour is wide and varied from broad and slapstick, to niche and dark.
What they don’t find funny doesn’t mean it’s not funny to others. A bit of tolerance for the views of others is needed.
God help them if they ever watched the brilliant “Curb Your Enthusiasm” – they’d have a heart attack.
The R-word is a bullet, and those who fire it are mostly hypocrites who wish to silence discussion of legitimate topics.
Muslims and Pakistanis are capable of being satirised and satirising themselves too.
Live and let live!
Sex ————– Sexist.
Racial ———– Racist.
Humankind —- Misanthropist.
Men ————– Misandrist.
Women ——— Misogynist.
The left column shows five individual topics for humour; humour that derives from the stupidity or the affectation or the simple humanness of men and/or women, including race, religion, education or physical size, is comedy, fun, a laugh and a human condition, in fact, it is essential to a healthy life.
The right column contains five topics of an entirely different nature. Unfortunately, these five words have been so badly abused over the years that many many people are unable to tell the difference between the two columns.
I remember when Wog was a highly inflammatory word, when the very funny show “Wogs Out of Work” hit the stage and then the TV airwaves, it did much to water down the expression and many of the established tensions.
We must see the funny side of each others earnestness, we must defuse the volatile expressions and the foolish prejudices, and comedy is a fine way to accomplish this.
He kind of reminds me of a mixture of my dad and me. There have been Indian family comedies before. This is all it seems like to me. By the way my dad was Hindu and I am Christian. Got nothing to do with religion but personality. I’m always the one buying toilet paper too…RIP papa. At least there are still people on TV that can make me laugh like he once did.
Can someone explain to me in simple terms how this is any different to the TV sitcoms, ‘Father Ted” & the ‘Vicar of Dibley’?
I am catholic – perhaps its time I started playing the ‘racist’ card everytime someone tells a joke about a nun or a priest.
Seriously……is there nothing else worth reporting on today….for Gods/Allahs Sake….give me break!!!
If the show has divided opinion in England where multiculturalism actually exist, imagine how its going to fail here. I don’t think its racist, just poor judgement from the network. $50 it doesn’t run to all 7 eps
I’m with Pete – it just isn’t funny.
We moved on from sitcoms with canned laughter about 20 years ago, didn’t we?
#2, Glengyron
SBS2 has aired Little Mosque on The Prairie, but only the first two series.
Why not make a comedy about Islam? Australians constantly laugh at themselves with such satires as Kath and Kim and Houso’s. We shouldn’t take these issues so seriously and I think a bit of light hearted fun at the world of Islamic Australia would not only be accepted but be welcomed.
@11 Tim Roberts
Laughing at Islam? You’d have to be a brave man who made fun of Islam…
The Seven Network is to air a sitcom [that’s already been played and watched by anyone who was interested in it.]”
Fixt.
Why do Australian networks bother with stale content from OS? Fund a local project with the cash and air it first…
@ Anon what you going to fund with the 20k this series would have cost? Most of our production teams won’t get out of bed for that. let alone write 7eps. cast and produce it. And you can guarantee it won’t be funny even if they did.
It’s summer and this what we have to look forward too till OZTAM start releasing ratings and making a race of the 12 week off season…