Citizen Khan

Citizen Khan is a family-based British sitcom produced by the BBC and created by Adil Ray now in its fourth series. It is set in Sparkhill, East Birmingham, described by its lead character, a Pakistani Muslim Mr Khan (Adil Ray), as "the capital of British Pakistan." Citizen Khan follows the trials and tribulations of Mr Khan, a loud-mouthed, patriarchal, self-appointed, cricket-loving community leader, and his long suffering wife (played by Shobu Kapoor) and daughters Shazia (Maya Sondhi 2012–2014, Krupa Pattani 2015–) and Alia (Bhavna Limbachia).^[1] In Series One, Kris Marshall starred as Dave, the manager of Mr Khan's local mosque.^[1] The first name of Mrs Khan is Razia Khan. Mr. Khan's first name is never revealed.

The title of the show is a play on the title of the Orson Welles film Citizen Kane.^[2] The character Mr Khan has already featured in the BBC Two comedy series Bellamy's People,^[3] on BBC Radio 4's Down the Line^[1] and on his own online series on the BBC Comedy website.^[4]

On 27 September 2012, the BBC announced that Citizen Khan had been commissioned for a second series.^[5]

On 2 December 2013, BBC controller Charlotte Moore announced that Citizen Khan had been renewed for a third series which began airing on 31 October 2014.^[6] On 11 December 2014, BBC comedy controller Shane Allen announced that a fourth series had been commissioned.^[7] On 14 October 2015, the official Facebook page of Citizen Khan confirmed through a video of Mr. Khan that the fourth series would begin on 30 October 2015.

On 20th January 2016, it was confirmed the show will return for a fifth series in October 2016. ^[8]

Broadcast and reception

The first episode of Citizen Khan was first broadcast on BBC One on 27 August 2012, in a late timeslot of 10:20pm. It received what Digital Spy referred to as an "impressive" 3.41 million viewers and 20.9% of the audience.^[9]

The Daily Mail's Saira Khan stated "at last, a home grown sitcom that allows British Muslims to laugh at themselves. Good on the BBC for finally realising the comic potential in one of the biggest communities that make up modern Britain."^[10]

The Independent's Hasnet Lais stated "Credit must be given to Adil Ray for not sparing any sacred cows and shining light on the conundrum of some British Muslim women under the patriarchal cosh."^[11]

The BBC received over 700 complaints^[12] following the airing of the first episode with a further 20 complaints to Ofcom. Some British Muslims claimed that the show "ridicules" and "insults" Islam. The BBC claimed it had evidence the complaints were part of a lobbying campaign and countered it saying a number of people, including those of Muslim communities, praised the show and referred to its audience figures as a "very positive start."^[13]

The Independent's Arifa Akbar commented negatively on its many clichéd jokes and character traits and drawing many comparisons with 1970s-style sitcoms.^[14] Mark Jones of The Guardian was more optimistic, describing it as "an affable enough debut, deserving a wider audience than this post-watershed slot is likely to attract".^[15]

The Islam Channel made a special show titled Politics and Media: Citizen Khan – Racist stereotypes or harmless fun? Presenter John Rees discussed whether the BBC comedy is stereotyping Muslims, or whether it is fun and can be laughed about by Muslims.

In September 2012, The Telegraph's Christopher Howse described the sitcom as "not racist, but it’s not funny either." ^[16] Gabriel Tate also of The Telegraph described the show as "embarrassing" and gave the series 1 star out of 5. ^[17] In 2014 Julie McDowall of The Herald described Citizen Khan as "worst comedy I've ever seen" and while the Daily Mirror's O'Sullivan stated: "TV comedy eh? It’s a funny old business. Unless we’re talking Citizen Khan ... which isn’t funny at all."^{[18] [19]}

By the second episode, broadcast on 3 September, Citizen Khan clips had become viral. Opinion outside the United Kingdom has also been mixed, with and resulted in many heated debates many heated views that centred on its apparent cultural disposition. Outside of the UK, Pakistani newspaper The News International criticised the BBC's use of Pakistani flags in the Khan's home and Mr Khan's younger daughter quickly putting on a hijab and pretending to read the Qur'an. The Pakistan News Watch website countered "shows like Citizen Khan are essential in multicultural societies and help put all communities on an equal footing – if everyone can have a laugh at everyone else's expense, then no one can claim superiority."^[20] The debate continued into a third week with the Yorkshire Post publishing an article by Pakistani journalist Sabbiyah Pervez appealing to her own community to "stop being so defensive and learn to laugh at itself."^[21]

The BBC ordered a seven-episode second series on 27 September 2012 due to good ratings.^[5] On 18 September 2013, the BBC announced that the second series would air on Friday nights in the prime time 9.30pm slot from 4 October.^[22]

In an interview with The Guardian, Adil Ray stated "What I’ve intended to do with Citizen Khan is a good thing – to make Mr Khan a good character, to make him universal and a communication between different communities."^[23] The television industry newspaper Broadcast run an article entitled ‘Rise of a sitcom hero’^[24]

The show, along with coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympics, Top Gear, The Apprentice, Doctor Who, Sherlock and The Voice UK, made up the list of the most watched shows on the BBC iPlayer in 2012.^[25]

Series 3 of Citizen Khan gained an audience of around 5 million per episode, including iPlayer views. Ahead the Series 4 debut in October 2015, Vicky Power of The Daily Telegraph stated "It’s harmless, friendly fun for the whole family."^[26] Series 4 of Citizen Khan made its debut on October 30, 2015. The series attracted a record 3.3 million viewers.^[27]

Citizen Khan has been exported to Australia, India, Russia, Bulgaria and New Zealand, spawned Christmas specials and prompted a UK-wide “live” tour of regional theaters. Speaking to the The Daily Telegraph in 2015 ahead of the launch of series 4, Adil Ray stated that fans of the show realise it is a "big laugh out loud comedy, not a reflection of every Muslim or Pakistani family in the country."^[28]

From Series 4 the role of Shazia Khan was taken over by Krupa Pattani replacing Maya Sondhi.

Adil Ray has faced criticism over his role in the programme. Some argue that the role of Mr Khan is stereotypical and racist towards Pakistani's.

Awards

• 2014 – Royal Television Society, Best performance in a comedy – Adil Ray^[29]
• 2014 – Royal Television Society, Best comedy programme – Citizen Khan^[30]
• 2013 – Asian Media Awards, Best TV character – Citizen Khan^[31]
• 2013 – Royal Television Society, Best performance in a comedy – Adil Ray^[32]
• 2013 – Royal Television Society, Best Comedy Programme – Citizen Khan^[32]

Appearances

Khan has made appearances at Children In Need 2014 in which he appeared as a guest in the Eastenders’ pub, the Queen Vic, Comic Relief 2015,^[33] in which he joked he was hoping to be considered for Jeremy Clarkson’s job at Top Gear, the FA Cup Final 2015, supporting local Birmingham team Aston Villa,^[34] and in October 2015 took over the train announcements at Birmingham New Street station for an hour.^[35]

Episodes

Characters

The main cast of series 1 (left to right top row first) Dave, Amjad Malik, Alia Khan, Mr Khan, Shazia Khan and Mrs Khan.

• Episode count is as of 20 November 2015 (Series 4, Episode 2)

     – Main Character in Series 4.

Ratings

Total viewers include overnight views plus views on BBC iPlayer, BBC HD and recorded catch up services. Official accurate figures are released 10 days after original transmission by BARB. For instance, Citizen Khan Series 2 Episode 1 attracted overall figures of 4.53m, a consolidated share of 15.1% including 1.17 million BBC iPlayer requests.

Distribution

DVD

Broadcasts

Premiering on 12 July 2013, the series airs on Comedy Central India in India.^[83]

Digital

Series 1, 2 & 3 is available to buy on iTunes in both Standard Definition and High Definition,^[84][85][86] "A Khan Christmas" and "A Khan Family Christmas" has also been made available to buy.^[87][88]

References

External links

• Citizen Khan at BBC Programmes
• Citizen Khan at the British Comedy Guide
• Citizen Khan at the Internet Movie Database