Transcultural Comedy in Man Like Mobeen (2017-2023): How the BBC is Merging “Us”/“Them.”

ABSTRACT

This article examines Guz Khan’s innovative television comedy Man Like Mobeen (2017–2023), explaining how it serves the BBC’s 2016 remit to produce socially-cohesive representations, portraying British Pakistani-Muslims. This is in sharp contrast to the predominant history of BBC comedy, which scholars suggest has played an institutional role, normalizing middle-class whiteness, and imposing a divisive “us”/“them” distinction which otherizes non-white, immigrant cultures. Man Like Mobeen was a reaction to these shows, in particular, the flawed sitcom Citizen Khan (2012–2016), which was the first led by a Pakistani-Muslim character—but was condemned by critics and the public for othering Muslims. By examining the production and the critical reception of Man Like Mobeen, this article explains how the show uniquely communicates the transcultural perspective of a Guz Khan, a second-generation, British Pakistani-Muslim. The audience reactions to the show suggest this relatability was achieved by three significant factors relating to its writing and production. First, critics praised the upscale, “realist” sitcom production style, designed to make its characters accessible. Second, critics appreciated Khan’s comic expression of culturally mixed identities, merging the traditional “us” and “them.” Last, audiences embraced his character Mobeen as a transcultural working-class hero.

KEYWORDS:

• BBC Television Comedy
• British Identity
• Man Like Mobeen
• sitcom
• Transcultural Identity

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Alex Symons

Alex Symons is associate professor of communication and media studies at LIM College, New York City. His research includes the monographs Women Comedians in the Digital Age: Media Work and Critical Reputations After Trump (Routledge, 2023), and Mel Brooks in the Cultural Industries: Survival and Prolonged Adaptation (Edinburgh UP, 2012), as well as numerous articles in journals, including the Journal of Popular Film and Television, Celebrity Studies, the Journal of Fandom Studies, the Journal of Applied Journalism and Media Studies, and the Journal of Adaptation in Film and Performance.