Citizen Khan

Ray thinks Citizen Khan wouldn't get commissioned now

Adil Ray has claimed his hit BBC sitcom Citizen Khan wouldn't be commissioned today amid debate that comedy has become "too woke".

Back in 2016, Labour MP Rupa Huq made headlines for her repeated critique of BBC sitcom Citizen Khan, which she deemed 'Islamophobic'.

Huq first raised the issue in a House of Commons debate on TV diversity before later developing her views in a Guardian opinion piece, in which she criticised the show's "cardboard cutout" characters and even went so far as to describe it as "stomach-churningly, buttock-clenchingly dire."

The MP then states that the sitcom pales in comparison to other depictions of Muslims on-screen, such as the "pioneering" Goodness Gracious Me and the "far more sophisticated" comedy Four Lionsp, and bookends her argument by claiming:

"We live in an age of rocketing post-Brexit hate crime with a US president elected on a pledge to ban Muslims. In this climate, Citizen Khan does us no favours at all."

Show creator Adil Ray has defended the comedy, which has attracted hundreds of official complaints over the last few years, by stating that it was never his intention to represent all Muslims; instead, he said it was based on one family and informed by his own experiences as well as those of his co-writers.

In a 2013 interview, he claimed his intentions were always to create a show with a message which was universal.

"Yes, [Citizen Khan] is about a Pakistani Muslim family, but what I really want is a white English lady to be watching it and nudge her husband and say, 'That's like you, Mr. Khan is just like you.' That - and the idea that children love the show - means more to me than anything any reviewer could ever say."

TV humour is lewd, lavatorial & lacking any form of wit

The problem, however, is bigger than just one show. For the abject and high-profile failure of The Nightly Show raises a disturbing question. What has happened to British comedy? The sheer unfunniness of much of it is beyond depressing.

Citizen Khan review

There's little doubt Adil Ray's sitcom is culturally important. But even the mayor of London can't rescue its comedy from wooden puns and 70s sex gags.

A new series of the mirthless Citizen Khan lands with a thump. Mr Khan has been banished, made to sleep in his car after forgetting his own wedding anniversary. Resolving to make amends, he gets himself into a spot of bother at Edgbaston cricket ground. There are some impressive guest stars, mind you, including Test Match Special's Jonathan Agnew, former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan and the mayor of London himself, Sadiq Khan.

Preview - Citizen Khan

While there will forever be debate about the show's quality, for me the main problem caused by Citizen Khan is that the BBC deep down must think that they have done enough in terms of catering to BAME audiences with just one sitcom, in comparison to ITV2 who have been trying out new pilots all week. The BBC needs to be more adventurous and seek new talent.

I despise this sitcom. I cannot understand its appeal. It is excruciating and yet the BBC insists on repeatedly giving it new series. Here it is again on what is, inexplicably, its fifth outing. How can this be?

I feel psychic when I'm watching Citizen Khan because the gags are so wildly obvious you can predict them. In those long, sagging minutes before the panto punchline is delivered you can see it coming, and you drum your fingers on the desk and you look at the clock and you bite your lip and then, boom-tish!, the wee joke is said and the thing creaks on to its next cartoonish scene.

In the series opener, Khan forgets his wedding anniversary so his wife makes him sleep in the car. And his boasts that he knows a famous cricketer gets him into trouble when he's asked to invite him to a community fundraiser. The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, guest stars, suggesting he has less decorum than his predecessor.