SNL Bil Arabi Hits the Middle East

BY ENGY ALY and MENNA ABBAS
@ENGYALY7 and @MTA2910

 

The Arabic version of the US comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL), which aired on the OSN network in the Middle East last weekend, could open the way to reviving the satire industry in the region.

Based in a newly renovated Studio Masr theatre in Cairo, SNL Arabia incorporated all the popular American show’s elements including a live audience, a celebrity guest, live sketches, musical performances, parody news and videos.

They spent over two years researching and training a crew of writers.

The show features many of the Middle East’s celebrity talents, such as Donia Samir Ghanem, who guest starred in the first episode with Shadi Alfons and Khalid Mansour, from the now defunct Al Bernameg, who will be regulars on the evening show.

After the cancelation of Bassem Youssef ’s show, Al Bernameg, the idea of having satirical shows was far fetched.

“The only difference between our show and the American one is that we won’t include any political references or talks,” said Abdullah Mohammed, a producer on SNL Arabia.

Associate Professor of Practice of Journalism and Mass Communication Dalia Ashmawi explained that since Al Bernameg was the first political satire show to ever be broadcast, it brought many similar shows to light.

“With social media, satire was fostered and with the increasing number of private channels, satire is accessible to everyone,” said Ashmawi, using Bassem Youssef as an example. He posted his videos on YouTube and opened the door to different people.

“In every region of the world, it’s important that broadcasters ensure their content is socially acceptable to the broadcast environment they are broadcasting in,” OSN CEO David Butorac said at the network’s gala dinner held mid-October in Dubai.

Hence, the show will be more focused on societal problems rather than political ones.

Butorac believes Egyptians need something to cheer them up, rather than to remind them of what they are going through.

“We communicate with each other through laughter and making fun of each other, it’s part of our culture,” said Ashmawi, when asked if the show would succeed.

The cooperation of the editorial team is a crucial asset to the show for it determines its success or its failure.

Ashmawi believes that “any talk show is not just about who is presenting or who is writing, it is more of a package.”

She believes SNL Arabia could be introducing new ideas through their creativity since they are challenged by other satirical shows.

Their biggest dilemma will likely be keeping their production original in an increasingly

“Some of SNL’s US crew came to make a documentary of what we’re doing here and they were amazed that we accomplished in five months what they accomplished in 40 years (regarding production), even though our crew is four times less than theirs,” SNL’s Mohammed said.