| Parazit | |
|---|---|
| Presented by | Kambiz Hosseini Saman Arbabi |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Saman Arbabi |
| Location(s) | Washington, D.C. |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | VOA Persian Service |
| Original airing | 2008 |
| External links | |
| [1] | |
Parazit (Persian: پارازیت, pārāzit, meaning "static") is a weekly half-hour Persian-language satirical television show broadcast on Voice of America's Persian service.[1] The show pokes fun at Iranian politics and culture. Kambiz Hosseini and Saman Arbabi, Iranian expatriates living in Washington, DC, started the show as a 10-minute segment in another show influenced by the American satirical news show The Daily Show.[2] Parazit was launched before the June 2009 presidential elections in Iran. It became very popular in Iran, reaching its audience via illegal satellite dishes, the internet, or bootleg DVDs.[3] Its name is a reference to the Iranian government's repeated attempts to jam foreign satellite programming. Because it is distributed through unofficial channels, it is impossible to determine the audience. However, as of January 2011 the show's YouTube channel is viewed 45,000 time a week and Facebook page is visited 17 million times a month.[3]
The program and its presenters have been subject to significant criticism in Iranian state media, described by some as "character assassination".[4]
Hosseini and Arbabi appeared on The Daily Show on January 20, 2011.[5]