''Basmat Watan'' () is a political satire and slapstick programme that airs via the

Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation The Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (), widely known as LBCI (), Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation () or LBC () is a private television station in Lebanon. LBCI was founded in 1992 by acquiring the assets, liabilities and logo of ...

, a privately owned television station in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. The writer of the show, Charbel Khalil, began work on the program in 1995 and in 2007 was leading its timeslot with 26 percent of the audience. The title of the programme is a

pun A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...

, as in

Lebanese Arabic Lebanese Arabic ( ; autonym: ), or simply Lebanese ( ; autonym: ), is a Varieties of Arabic, variety of Levantine Arabic, indigenous to and primarily Languages of Lebanon, spoken in Lebanon, with significant linguistic influences borrowed from ...

the title can either refer to either "death" or "smiles" of a nation. ''Basmat Watan'' is the longest-running political satire program in Lebanon.

Origins

In 1995, ''Basmat Watan'' started by lampooning Lebanese political figures, including the then Prime Minister of Lebanon

Rafic Hariri Rafic Bahaa El Deen al-Hariri (; 1 November 1944 – 14 February 2005) was a Lebanese businessman and politician who served as Prime Minister of Lebanon, prime minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 to 2004. Hariri headed fi ...

Politics

Khalil, who is also the producer of the show, says the show does not favor any political party in Lebanon and that "the key is to take on absolutely everyone". One sketch on the show depicted a journalist with a swollen face after an interview with the allegedly quick-tempered Michel Aoun, leader of the

Free Patriotic Movement The Free Patriotic Movement (, ) is a Lebanese political party. Founded by Michel Aoun in 1994, the party is currently led by Aoun's son-in-law Gebran Bassil since 2015. History Background For many years, while Michel Aoun was and exiled i ...

. In an interview with ''The New York Times'', Khalil responded to suggestions that he targeted the

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

ruling party more, saying "I criticize them more because they are the majority in Parliament", adding "if they lose, I will criticize the other side more."

References

Lebanese comedy Lebanese political satire 1995 Lebanese television series debuts 1990s Lebanese television series 2000s Lebanese television series 2010s Lebanese television series 2020s Lebanese television series Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International original programming {{Lebanon-tv-stub