Hassan Minhaj tweeted on 18th August that his topical comedy show Patriot Act on Netflix had to end.
He was grateful for the contribution of his team and all the moments he spent on that insightful show. It was the only show on Netflix that brought the sense of urgency to the current affairs. Apart from that, it meant so much to the viewers and especially those who belong to South Asian region.
It was the first US show that was led by an Indian American who represented an entire ethnic group. Many have criticized Netflix for letting that happen. With the end of Patriot Act, that representation has also ended.
Hasan Minhaj Doing Something Important With Patriot Act
The comedy show started in 2018 and ran 40 episodes over six seasons. Last year, it won an Emmy and a Peabody Award. Further Minhaj was also named among Time’s 100 Most Influential people. The show was instantly successful for being different than regular political satire shows. It deeply touched the issues of politics and modern culture that validated the anger of the non-white communities; something which is frequently excluded from most perspectives.
Minhaj discussed various topics including the elections in India, US elections, protests in Sudan, global obesity, legalization of marijuana, mental health, coronavirus crises, censorship in China, prices of education, and George Floyd’s murder by American police. Viewers of diverse ethnicity praised Minhaj and his arguments in the show which are now extremely sad.
What The Reaction Has Been?
Many have took to twitter and criticized Netflix for ending the only show which raised the suppressed voices of Asian Americans. A petition to bring back Patriot Act on Change.org has already generated around 12000 signatures.
Minhaj’s show transpired into a vital information source for ethnic minorities, mainly Muslims who are restricted by various laws of the west. Fellow comedian Trevor Noah stood by Hasan and verified how important his voice is for the minorities.
Hasan carried his work with determination and sincerity in spreading proper education. His fans loved his blunt style of calling out wrongful acts, even if they were done by powerful people.
His research style about every issue often uncovered corruption on leadership levels which might have pissed off some influential groups. It was speculated that Netflix was not ready to tackle that kind of pressure for Hasan’s show
According to several viewers, Patriot Act was necessary to be aired on screen so the rest of world could attempt to understand the issues of brown people as well.
What Were The Issues With Patriot Act?
According to the reports, Netflix cares about its diverse viewership and its demand for diverse content. However, when deciding to renew a contract, the streaming service compared the number of viewers against the cost of production. It reported that the talk show category was not doing well in that regard.
Hasan has received a fair share of criticism for his outrageous show. For unapologetically witty comments, he blends thoughts and feelings which exposes his own anger as well. One time, he admitted in an interview that he had antagonized a lot of people with his content, thus he was not sure about the fate of Patriot Act since a long time
His controversial style of explaining on going events caused upheaval in KSA as well. He criticized the Saudi Crown Prince over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in an episode which Netflix deleted
Apart from severe criticism and the financial concern of Netflix, no other reason had come forward except a couple of alarming discoveries.
A worker at Patriot Act stated that she felt miserable on the set of Patriot Act and was not happy working with the popular comedy artist. Her experiences seemed disturbing which she did not disclose openly. However, she admitted that the show reeked of hypocrisy
Second one also repeated similar issues and described her experience as humiliated, manipulated, targeted, and ignored which reverted her into depression. She was proud of work but wished that those people were really ethical like they portrayed it on television.
