US media network Fusion announced the launch of a new show, "The Democracy Handbook," hosted by Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef on Tuesday. Apart from sporadic appearances, the show will mark the return of the Arab world’s most prominent satirist to television, after the termination of his show in 2014 amid a severe crackdown on media freedoms in Egypt.
The new series, which was first announced in February, will be aired online on the network’s recently launched digital media platform F-Comedy starting July 7, and will be accompanied by a one-hour television special premiere on Fusion’s television network on July 17.
The show will follow Youssef as he discovers and is disappointed by American democracy, according to the network. The series is part of Fusion’s 2016 presidential elections coverage.
Youssef commended his American associates on his Facebook page, whom he describes as having “the courage to criticize the negatives of their society, including discrimination and hate.” The show is produced by former Daily Show producer Kathy Egan.
Youssef has long credited the Daily Show for providing inspiration for his hit Egyptian TV series "Al-Barnameg" (The Program}, which attempted to create an Arabic version of the widely popular American political satire show.
The show’s first promotional video, released on Tuesday, is a satirical advertisement for a device for people in the US to measure the extent of radicalization of their Muslim neighbors.
Youssef rose to stardom in the wake of the 2011 revolution, after a political satire show that he taped in his house and posted on YouTube went viral, and was later picked up by major Egyptian networks.
Youssef’s show, however, was forced to move between several stations from 2011 to 2014 due to issues of censorship, until the host announced the cancellation during its third season, citing increasing political pressure on him, his team and the channel.
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