Mideast Minute
Digital Series // Comedy Central

Cast: Pardis Parker
Writer: Pardis Parker

Selected Press

"I look at what's happening and my only reaction is being filled with encouragement and hope. Look at the decision and the immediate and overwhelming response from everyone in the country — not just people who have my skin color, not just people who have my cultural background. The immediate reaction from the country was one of support and defiance. It was coming together to raise their voices on our behalf. This thing that was meant to divide actually had the opposite effect. It led to an outpouring of love. "

"Parker has a sharp, smart tone."

"Sri Lankan-born comedian Pardis Parker sees his family's history as asylum seekers to Canada as key in shaping his worldview and informing his political satire."

"It’s a big elephant charging directly at us, and everybody can see it."

"My whole background – the mixed heritage, the varied perspective – all of that allows me to come at stories from a different angle."

"More than anything I was fascinated with zooming out a few clicks and understanding how we got here. Not just in the U.S., but in the U.K., France, Germany, Austria, Denmark and others."

"Comedy Central has recently launched a new online satirical show, “Mideast Minute,” hosted by Pardis Parker, which pokes fun at U.S. propaganda."

"The show's not really about the Middle East. At all. It's a show, more than anything, about the way we spin the truth, and try to convince people we're acting in their best interests, even when it's obvious we're not."

"The humor may be dry, but the timing is impeccable."

"Both timely and funny — a combination that works."

"Such is the sad state of American manufacturing: We aren’t even growing our political satirists at home anymore."

"Parker admits he would like to turn the online shorts into a full blown TV show."

"Anchor Jamsheed Al-Jamsheedi delivers the news as he sees it while addressing his Middle Eastern viewers about current affairs."

"Comedy Central is adding another news satire series to its roster, greenlighting Mideast Minute for worldwide distribution via the network’s digital platform."

"Mideast Minute will satirize U.S. propaganda efforts in the Middle East, parodying the U.S. Congress-funded Alhurra network, an Arabic-language satellite TV channel that provides an "American view" of the region."

"It’s a fairly specific joke we’re telling each week."

"SNL isn’t the only show...Comedy Central has added a new webseries about US politics, Mideast Minute, starring Pardis Parker."

"The show mocks U.S. propaganda efforts aimed at the Arab world, like Alhurra, the Arabic-language channel launched under the Bush administration."