The Fake Show

The Fake Show (Arabic: فيك شو) is a talk show and news satire program covers the biggest news stories in Iraq and the Arab World. In politics, pop culture and more. Hosted by Sami Quinn, an alien in human form. The show first premiered on October 25, 2019 on YouTube, inspired by American television programs like The Daily Show, Last Week Tonight, and The Opposition with Jordan Klepper. The fake show is the first satire show in Arabic language that breaks every taboo and makes fun-uniquely, even of the clerical establishment and its icons in a straightforward fashion.
Comedy, It's no laughing matter.[1] Especially when it attempts to drive humor from the political process in Iraq or the Arab world, that's why The Fake Show plays with self-referential humor, black comedy, and dark sarcasm, by shaping serious-delicate issues like ISIS, racism, Iran-backed militias, assassinations, women's rights, and human rights violation in a form of humor that makes you catch the differences between political satire, comedy itself, and the regular daily news. The main message focuses on major goals such as fighting for free speech and exposing the political corruption in the Arab world and the political parties in Iraq after the 2003 invasion, by making half-half funny-serious segments of people trying to hide their actions behind a fake cloud of holiness, either under a religious excuse, family historical-sacred titles, or their own political and military history.

THE FAKE SHOW
فيك شو
GenreComedy, news satire, talk show
Created bySami Quinn
Inspired byJon Stewart, The Daily Show, Last Week Tonight, and The Opposition with Jordan Klepper.
Written bySami Quinn, Maya, Tito, Dante, Mansour
Directed byMaximus
Presented bySami Quinn
Country of originIraq
Original languageArabic
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producerSami Quinn
ProducersOmar Al-ani, Mido, Hassan Media
Production locationsUFO base in Europe, Alexandria, Virginia, Sami's apartment (COVID-19 pandemic)
Running time30-50 minutes
Release
Original networkYouTube
Picture format1080p
Original releaseOctober 25, 2019 – present
External links
Website
Sami Quinn, wearing a black turban and mocking Muqtada al-Sadr on The Fake Show, S1 Ep05

List of episodes

Season 1

Caption text
No.TitleNative titleOriginal air dateGuest(s)
1People want to drop the principalالشعب يريد اسقاط المديرOctober 25, 2019N/A
2The Republic of the Tahrir Squareجمهورية التحريرNovember 27, 2019N/A
3Some chickواحد فرخDecember 31, 2019N/A
4Neither Eastern nor Westernلاشرقية ولا غربيةFebruary 3, 2020N/A
5al-SayyidئلسيدFebruary 25, 2014N/A
6The conspiracy of Coronavirusمؤامرة كوروناMarch 14, 2020N/A
7The myths of the Coronavirusخرافات كوروناApril 21, 2020N/A
8Ramadan drama: Defeat Mustafa Al-Kadhimiرمضان دراما: أغلب الكاظميMay 23, 2020N/A
9We will pray in Jerusalemسنصلي في القدسJune 7, 2020N/A
10Red cardكارت أحمرJune 22, 2020Dhikra Sarsam/ Iraqi Activist
11The fight over the sovereigntyعركة السيادةJuly 16, 2020N/A
12Beirut explosionانفجار بيروتAugust 16, 2020N/A
13The people of Allahربع اللهOctober 7, 2020David Sullivan/ American Author
Sami Quinn in first episode from The Fake Show, criticizes the Fake news (October 25, 2019)

The Start

The show started with very very limited possibilities. Little apartment, single Nikon D5200 DSLR camera, low budget Core i3 laptop, and staff of a handful of people work freely. The idea popped in Quinn's head after seeing dozens of young Iraqi people falling dead under the fire of snipers deployed by Iran-backed militias in the beginning of October 2019.[2][3] And this is one of the reasons that led to see many segments spotting light on the Iranian intervention in Iraq, which has reached an all-time high.[4][5]

Sami Quinn on The Fake Show, making fun of Donald Trump as he is holding the Bible

Format

The original idea that there is an alien hiding in earth for millions of years, with visual programmed assistant called Max. That alien decides to see what's going on earth, and once he sees the world he chooses to talk. The alien starts his operation by choosing some human form, he called it sami with "Quinn" as a last name, after his favorite actor Anthony Quinn. So sami Quinn is an alien, that means he is an outsider, and for mocking the politics or the individuals in a complicated world like the Arab world, you supposed to be neutral, free of any ties, unconnected to any sect or religion or group, and to reach all that you can't be a human being, you need to be an alien.[6]

Segments

Each episode begins with a joke about events from around the globe, or international crisis- usually about Donald Trump, then, and step by step, the show starts bouncing between short stories, in a sense of humor, until you find yourself before a serious case about losing an activist after an assassination,or a case about corruption in the Arab world or the Corruption in Iraq that pulling the country towards the abyss.[7]
The show usually divided into 3-4 parts with different themes, taking into consideration that every episode should contain at least one segment about an issue in North Africa or the Middle East, whether it was a controversy over the Burkini, or the rights of the Political prisoners in Algeria or Egypt, like Alaa Abd El-Fattah. The show made a clear position on the leaders in the Arab world and Middle East in general, like Benjamin Netanyahu or Ali Khamenei. Also, the show spots a light on Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the president of Egypt and his conflict with Erdogan on Libya. Furthermore, the show used dark sarcasm to mock Mohammad bin Salman about human rights in Saudi Arabia and the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. The Fake show is the first satire news program- presented by Iraqi person, dealing with wide-Arabic issues, due to difficulties in the Iraqi accent that some Arab states can't even understand it, that's why Quinn's trying to bring out a filtered version of it, in addition to his ability to speak in multiple accents and four languages.[8]

Sami Quinn with David Sullivan on The Fake Show

Interviews

The first season of the show managed to record few interviews on Skype, by choosing non-famous figures but people with civil activities from Iraq or other places, concerned about Iraq, the Middle East, and the Arab world. Like prof. David Sullivan who highlighted- in his interview, the mistakes of the US after 2003 invasion, also, he raised critical points about the future of Iraq and the whole region.[9]

Sami Quinn singing The "UNIDENTIFIED"- about the assassinations in Iraq, S1 Ep13

A message in a Melody

One of the tools in the Fake Show is delivering a message in melodies, in a form close to a song but not exactly- usually verses on a Hip-Hop or Rap rhythm. The first message called "YOU ARE IRAQI."[10] The message was about the disunity within the Iraqi society that's loaded with extreme views such taking the side of America or Iran. The last message called "UNIDENTIFIED.[11] It is about political corruption, Freedom of speech, and the Assassinations in Iraq. exposing and criticizing the proliferation of weapons among huge number of individuals from different security departments, in addition to the presence of armed groups, like hundreds of thousands members of militias active behind legal-official identification. And despite all this mess, the authorities are still unable to point a finger at the unsub.[12]

The Fake Show during the COVID-19 pandemic

On the beginning of March 2020 Quinn decided to continue the show by filming alone, which resulted in a delay to finish some episodes in the scheduled time. The COVID-19 pandemic coincide with a family tragedy forced Quinn to stop for almost a month, but after that he came back and finished the season from his apartment.

Reception

The show depends on the feedback that helped a lot to improve it, an episode after another, and despite there are some negative reviews either for non-substantive reasons for rejecting new face in the media or such type of sarcasm. Or objective ratings refuse Sami Quinn personality under the heading that Quinn looks more serious than funny. Conversely, there is a fan base start dealing positively with the show and Quinn's style, accepting sarcasm far from any triviality and segments never based on empty-pointless materials, also, the show started getting positive reviews and support from journalists and educated classes believe that when it comes to the political criticism, satire is one of the most powerful weapons.[13]

Effectiveness, free speech crisis, and intimidation

Sami Quinn on The Fake Show with background of Tahrir Square in Baghdad, and an image of Safaa Al Sarai S1 Ep03

The fact that there is limited space for freedom of expression in the Arab world, plus the Arab communities itself had differing Opinions on Freedom of Expression.[14] For those reasons we didn't saw but the Egyptian program Al Bernameg that canceled in 2015, in response to political and social pressure.[15] And for the Iraqi people, we see a complete lack in this area; there is only Albasheer Show that produced outside the country.[16] For all that, it seems very normal all those public attempts to stop the fake show by any mean. Especially that the show mocks many violent groups and individuals in the Middle East, like Qais Khazali, Qasem Soleimani, Hassan Nasrallah, and others, the militias sent public death threats to the show, making many people afraid even of posting a comment to support the program. the number of threats jumped up after the episode no.5 where Quinn put on a black turban, mocking Muqtada al-Sadr and his efforts to change 2019–20 Iraqi protests direction. The host, Sami Quinn, received endless threat of people refuse his ideas of making fun of religious people in Iraq even if they have a political effect- even though that the show is still in the beginning and the number of its followers is still limited, also he received many threats for supporting October demonstrations and his defense of its icon Safaa Al Sarai.[17] The program always stood with the Anti-government protesters in Iraq and made episodes with backgrounds on the Tahrir Square in a location real close to Baghdad tower which was taken by the protestors and became the center of the demonstrations and its icon, it called the Turkish Restaurant.[18] And that's one of the reasons why the militias in Iraq, using fake social media accounts, always attack the program and promising to kill Sami Quinn once they find his place.[19] Despite all that, Quinn stated at his last appearance in season one- during a segment about the assassination of the Iraqi doctor Reham Yacoub, that: "...let us try to fight their guns with laughter."[20]

References

  1. Sam Waterston on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert channel on YouTube
  2. "Exclusive: Iran-backed militias deployed snipers in Iraq". Reuters. October 17, 2019. "The deployment of militia fighters, which has not been previously reported, underscores the chaotic nature of Iraqi politics amid mass protests that led to more than 100 deaths and 6,000 injuries during the week starting Oct. 1."
  3. "Iraq: Deadly sniper attacks and intimidation as protesters face intensifying crackdown". Amnesty International. October 9, 2019. "...The Iraqi authorities’ brazen use of excessive and lethal force against protesters in Baghdad and elsewhere must not be allowed to be swept under the rug. The Iraqis have paid too high a price simply to be able to exercise their right to freedom of peaceful assembly."
  4. Eisenstadt, Michael; Knights, Michael; Ali, Ahmed (April 2011). "Iran's Influence in Iraq" (PDF). The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. p. 50. "...The formation in December 2010 of the second government of Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki marked a milestone in Tehran’s efforts to unify its Shiite political allies in Iraq."
  5. Eisenstadt, Michael; Knights, Michael; Ali, Ahmed (April 2011). "Iran's Influence in Iraq" (PDF). The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. p. 50. "...While Iran, since 2003, has encouraged its Iraqi political allies to work with the United States and participate in the nascent democratic political process, it has also armed, trained, and funded Shiite militias and Shiite—and, on occasion, Sunni—insurgents to work toward a humiliating defeat for the United States that would deter future U.S. military interventions in the region."
  6. Based on Quinn's response to questions during live video on Sami Quinn account on Instagram
  7. F. Worth, Robert (July 29, 2020). "Inside the Iraqi Kleptocracy". The New York Times. "...Iraqi political life may look like gang warfare to outsiders, but on most days its turbulent surface conceals a calm and cheerful business of looting."
  8. Based on a selection of clips from The Fake Show channel on YouTube
  9. The interview w/prof. David Sullivan
  10. YOU ARE IRAQI on YouTube
  11. UNIDENTIFIED on YouTube
  12. Based on Quinn's response to questions during live video on Sami Quinn account on Instagram
  13. Based on collection of positive and negative reviews on the social media (October 20, 2020).
  14. Benjamin, Plackett (December 8, 2017). "Report Shows Arab World's Differing Opinions on Freedom of Expression".
  15. "Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef cancels show due to 'enormous'pressure". Middle East Eye. February 12, 2015. "...al-Bernameg has been cancelled with its host Bassem Youssef announcing "it is not allowed" in Egypt."
  16. KALIAN, YOUSIF (October 6, 2017). "Baghdad Burlesque?". "...The show is produced in Jordan, and al-Basheer and his production crew count themselves among Jordan’s 700,000 Iraqi refugees."
  17. According to tweets from Sami Quinn official account on twitter that he receives threats in comments and private massages from accounts with profile pictures of Iranian leaders, Popular Mobilization Forces fighters, and Shiite clerics icons.(October 10. 2020)
  18. Barbarani, Sofia (November 7, 2019). "Inside the Baghdad tower taken over by protesters". Al Jazeera Media Network. "...Once home to popular rooftop restaurant, ‘Turkish Restaurant’ building has become a landmark of Iraq’s demonstrations."
  19. Comments on clips in The Fake Show channel on YouTube.
  20. Sami Quinn, The Fake Show, S1 Ep13
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