Earlier this month, CBS released the first trailer for Chuck Lorre’s upcoming comedy Al United States, which is due to debut on April 1st. What should have been a fun and delicious look on the new sitcom has become a reaction against the program.
Created by David Goetsch and Maria Ferrari, the series follows a friendship between Riley (Parker Young), a combat veteran of the Navy who struggles to readjust to civilian life in Ohio, and Awalmir (“Al”) (Adhir Kalyan), the interpreter who served with his unit in Afghanistan and has just arrived to start a new life in America. It seems harmless, right? Well, for many, there are some red flags. On the one hand, a non-Afghan actor is playing the title role and at a time when authentic representation is paramount, it was a spark that started a significant amount of reaction.
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Since the launch of the trailer, Twitter has been on fire with criticism against the series and executive producer Reza Aslan has spent a lot of time trying to put out these fires, defending United States of Al.
“You can’t judge a show by a 30-second trailer. Well, you shouldn’t at least, ”he replied to a tweet and in another he defended:“ There are five Afghan characters on the show and four of them are played by Afghans. We saw 100 Afghan protagonists, but sitcom is a specialized genre and is very difficult to play. But we also have four Afghan writers / producers on the show who did a great job helping Adhir. “
“Perhaps you will learn a little about the program, its creators, its producers, its four Afghan writers, its plot and just about everything else before announcing its opinion on it,” wrote Aslan.
He continued: “As it is my program, I can guarantee that it is written and produced by Afghans and Muslims. Which uses the format to reshape people’s perception of both. It portrays an Afghan Muslim protagonist in a true and honest light. “
Read some of the tweets below.
You cannot judge a show by a 30-second trailer. Well, you shouldn’t, at least. Still it is Twitter… https://t.co/BIh0MYEFaQ
– Reza Aslan (@rezaaslan) March 21, 2021
There are five Afghan characters on the show and four of them are played by Afghans. We saw 100 Afghan protagonists, but the sitcom is a specialized genre and is very difficult to play. But we also have four Afghan writers / producers on the show who did a great job helping Adhir. https://t.co/bGej9bcN3B
– Reza Aslan (@rezaaslan) March 21, 2021
In fact, it’s lucky. As it is my program, I can guarantee that it is written and produced by Afghans and Muslims. Which uses the format to reshape people’s perception of both. It portrays an Afghan Muslim protagonist in a true and honest light. https://t.co/c5xKP3SIZ7
– Reza Aslan (@rezaaslan) March 20, 2021
Perhaps you will learn a little about the program, its creators, its producers, four Afghan writers, its plot and almost everything else before announcing its opinion on it. Just a thought. https://t.co/dMXFqNJ3kJ
– Reza Aslan (@rezaaslan) March 20, 2021
Curiosity: you haven’t seen it yet, so you can’t really comment on a place of knowledge now, can you? https://t.co/aTfpNKtIXd
– Reza Aslan (@rezaaslan) March 21, 2021