Latest news with #politicalcomedy
New York Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
5 Animated Political Satire Series to Stream
The state of American politics can feel so exaggerated and far-fetched that one of the best ways to represent it is through a medium made for such absurdity. Animated satirical series can depict our country's political figures and moments at their most bizarre, sometimes taking aim at a particular party or politician, and sometimes lambasting the general idea of America as a fair, free and democratic nation. What follows is a guide to animated satires of American politics and politicians from the first Bush administration to the Biden administration. #1 Happy Family USA (2025- ) This new series, created by the comedian Ramy Youssef and the writer Pam Brady, depicts a Muslim Egyptian American family in New Jersey who must learn to properly code-switch and project the image of a nonthreatening, properly assimilated family in order to carry on in the midst of the prejudice and jingoism of post-9/11 America. Much of the series focuses on the exploits and misadventures of Rumi (voiced by Youssef), who tries to find his place among his middle school peers. But beyond the more standard adolescent story lines, '#1 Happy Family USA' hilariously skewers the likes of Fox News and George W. Bush, and also offers a stringent critique of how American beliefs and values shifted at the expense of many Muslim citizens and people of color after 9/11. Streaming on Amazon Prime. American Dad! (2005- ) The series creator Seth MacFarlane (who also created 'Family Guy') has said that 'American Dad!' was inspired by his frustration with the 2000 presidential election and the Bush administration. The sitcom stars the Smith family, the patriarch of which, Stan, is a jingoistic far-right Republican who works for the C.I.A. Conservative politics take many of the satire's hits, but characters like Stan's hippie daughter and her boyfriend then husband represent leftist targets that get mocked regularly. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Japan Times
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Times
LGBTQ Thai ghost story wins prize in Cannes
Film director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, who won a top prize at the Cannes Festival on Wednesday, recruited a major influencer for his off-the-wall gay comedy with a political punch. In "A Useful Ghost," Davika "Mai" Hoorne — a model and actor with 18 million followers on Instagram — plays a woman who returns from the dead and haunts a vacuum cleaner to comfort her husband. The film features sexy ghosts and a brawl between electrical appliances, but is also a meditation on sweeping unpleasant political events under the carpet. It won the top prize in the Critics' Week sidebar section of the Cannes film festival on Wednesday. In Thailand, LGBTQ love or coming-out stories are common, Ratchapoom said during the festival. "But I want queer characters to do more than that, to do more politics as well," he said. "We need more diverse queer stories to be told." In his wacky satire, the ghost's in-laws are at first deeply displeased that she has returned, but then they put her to work hunting down another lost soul disturbing the family factory. A minister takes note of her talent, and brings her in to find and terminate the dissident ghosts that are haunting his home, including people killed in real-life deadly protests. In 2010, more than 90 people were killed, the vast majority of them civilians, when the army cracked down on so-called "Red Shirt" protests demanding new elections after former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a coup. After the demonstrations, there was "a lot of debris, mess on the street and the city of Bangkok started this campaign to cleanse" it, the filmmaker said. People with water and brooms appeared out of nowhere "to cleanse the blood, the dirt ... all the evidence, and I found it pretty weird." He recounted once reading a story about authorities cutting down a mango tree to ensure no one would remember an officer executing a suspected Communist under it. "In Thailand, the state always tries to erase something they don't like," he said. The film's lead actress Davika — who also starred as a ghost more than a decade ago in Thailand's highest-grossing film "Pee Mak" — is among his fans. You have to be "very brave to shoot this kind of story, to speak up globally," she said. "Because in Thailand, most of us are not allowed to say this," she added, without elaborating. Thaksin, some of whose supporters were killed in 2010, returned from exile to Thailand in 2023, with his party taking over government that year and his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra becoming prime minister the following year. He remains popular with his support base, but he has long been disliked by Thailand's pro-royalist and military establishment. Thaksin is due to appear in court in July in a royal defamation case. Thailand legalized same-sex marriage in January, the largest nation in Asia to do so.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
John Oliver Mocks Trump's Comments About Dolls: 'Every Single Way This Man Refers To Girls Makes My Skin Want To Turn Inside Out'
As President Donald Trump prepares Americans for economic hardship amid a looming trade war, Last Week Tonight's John Oliver zeroed in on the GOP leader's multiple comments about dolls, which came about as he enlisted a clumsy and ever-changing metaphor to discuss how girls of varying ages may now need to buy anywhere between two to five dolls instead of 30 or 37. 'Every single way this man refers to girls makes my skin want to turn inside out,' the political comic quipped. 'That said, I did also want to see him keep going there, just to see how many variations of ages and numbers he could cycle through.' More from Deadline 'Shogun' Showrunner Celebrates BAFTA Win By Declaring: Good TV Is "Borderless" Amid Trump Tariff Threat Jonathan Pryce Worries He Could Be Denied Entry To U.S. For Speaking Mind On Trump's Tariff Plan "There Is No Future In Forgetting": Watch Great Americans Medal Recipient Ava DuVernay's Smithsonian Speech Oliver then rattled off one of his signature high-speed asides, mimicking how the president might continue upping the ages of the girls mentioned ('45-year-old girl, but still young at heart') and increasing the doll count ('12 dolls, 12 Apostles, 12 Days of Christmas, 12 Angry Men — Henry Fonda, great guy, right? The other men — very angry, very angry men, that's what we've got to get out of this country that's coming over illegally. Or you know what — 13 dolls, that's my final offer.') After reiterating his initial 'frivolous' comments a second time during an interview with NBC's Meet the Press, in which he posited that an 11-year-old 'beautiful baby girl' would not need so many dolls, Trump's second reiteration aboard Air Force One upped the figurative doll-owning age to 15. 'He thinks 15-year-old girls play with dolls. Has he ever met a 15-year-old girl? That's a dumb question, of course he has — he was friends with Jeffrey Epstein,' Oliver said, flashing a picture of the two on screen and eliciting huge exclamations of 'whoa' from the audience. Elsewhere, Oliver also threw a zinger at Jeanine Pirro following her appointment as interim U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., calling her the 'meanest drunk aunt.' He also made some lighthearted jokes about the election of Chicago-hailing Robert Prevost to the head of the Catholic Church as Pope Leo XIV. 'So if you're wondering: 'Is Trump's stupid trade war about to hurt a lot of people?' Well, is the pope Catholic and now also some guy named Bob from Chicago? The answer is, obviously, yes,' he said. Best of Deadline All The Songs In Netflix's 'Forever': From Tyler The Creator To SZA 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery
Daily Mail
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
MAGA erupts in fury at SNL cast for deeply personal stab at Pete Hegseth: 'This is disgraceful'
MAGA supporters have erupted in fury over Saturday Night Live 's latest political sketch featuring a deeply personal dig at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The controversial segment, which aired this weekend, featured former cast member Cecily Strong returning as Judge Jeanine Pirro alongside Colin Jost portraying Hegseth as her 'drinking buddy.' In the sketch, Strong repeatedly made light of alleged alcohol issues that the real-life Defense Secretary has vehemently denied. 'I love Pete Hegseth. He's my old drinking buddy,' Strong's Pirro said. When Jost then entered the scene as Hegseth, Pirro was so surprised that she sprayed wine all over his face. 'Hey, Pete, you're not drinking again, are you?' Johnson's Trump asked. 'No, absolutely not, sir,' Hegseth replied. 'I promised I would never have a bottle touch my lips, but I do have some news to share. Before I do, Jeanine, you want to take a swig of this?' Pirro then spat her drinks in his face again - and he eagerly opened his mouth to catch some of the alcoholic spray. 'Anyway,' Hegseth continued. 'I accidentally added Kim Jong Un to the group chat.' 'Oh yeah, that's the stuff,' Hegseth jokes, as Trump calls the pair the 'AA team.' The sketch sparked fury on social media with users slamming the show with angry reactions. Many supporters of President Trump called the 'comedy' 'disgraceful' and 'anti-American.' 'This is what despicable disgraceful anti American TV PROPAGANDA looks like,' wrote one particularly incensed viewer on X. 'They attempt to portray @JudgeJeanine & Sec. Def as drinkers to regurgitate old slander points. Is this what you want your kids growing up watching?' 'Is this what you want your kids growing up watching? When we grew up with SNL it was funny,' the furious user continued. One user questioned: 'How much longer will they be able to do s*** like this?' Another commented: 'It's not funny. The political bias and one sided comedy is just pathetic and sad.' Critics called out the sketch not just for its offensive content but also for Jost's 'poor portrayal' of Hegseth. 'SNL does poor preparation for their skits and this shows. They have Hegseth all wrong,' one user criticized. They clearly have never watched a clip of him talking. He acts like Christopher Moltisanti from the Sopranos not some prep school kid.' 'SNL has no one that can do a decent Hegseth impersonation,' another wrote. The SNL cold open came after President Donald Trump this week announced that he was appointing the 73-year-old former judge the next United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. Pirro will replace Trump's interim appointment Ed Martin. The NBC show mocked the new appointment, by bringing back a Merlot-sipping Strong to star as the judge. 'I am so proud to be part of this group full of Russian assets, booze hounds and people famous for the little baby animals they've killed,' she said, thanking the president - played by James Austin Johnson - for adding her to the administration. Johnson's Trump then shared his own praise of Pirro. 'Oh we love Jeanine. She's a great legal mind and she ahs the most important quality I look for in a lawyer: She's on TV. She's on The Five, which is a show kind of like The View,' he jokes. At that point, Cecily's Pirro interjects that she's 'a Whoopi,' which Johnson's Trump agreed with - saying she was also 'very tough.' 'Yes, especially on immigration,' the fake Pirro agreed. 'I don't have any reservations about sending things back. 'My friends know I've sent back every salad I've ever ordered at a restaurant,' she added - leading Trump to say he 'wouldn't know' as he has 'never' eaten a salad. This isn't the first time SNL took a dig at Hegseth's drinking habits. In March, critics slammed the show for insinuating that he drinks on the job, as they made fun of the Trump Administration's top secret war plans texting blunder. SNL opened the show with a group chat skit teasing Donald Trump's national security team for adding an editor from the Atlantic to a military group chat. The White House faced fierce backlash last week when the Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg revealed he was added to a Signal app group with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials. Vance, played by Bowen Yang, then entered the chat, and they started to joke that Hegseth was drinking on the job. 'Well, I'm going to be bad and make myself a jack and coke to celebrate, just the one though,' Dismukes said. 'Nice, you promised to stop drinking when you got the job, but it's like they say in AA, just the one is okay,' Bowen said. During his confirmation hearing, Hegseth pledged that he wouldn't drink at all in his position as the Pentagon's chief after past allegations he was drunk on the job numerous times on Fox News.
