When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

DARAJ
Daraj is an independent digital media platform created by experienced journalists. Daraj is a commercial company, with plans of becoming a for-profit one at a later stage. Until then, we receive international funding.
Image of two officers sitting next to and talking to one another on the couch in an office .
Society
Omar Bakbook

Syria's TV Industry Takes Another Crack At Comedy — Is That A Joke?

After a decade of conflict, once-popular Syrian comedies have lost their shine. New shows are trying to revive the country's golden era of TV, but comedy is a tough sell in a country still living under a brutal dictatorship.

The “Golden Era” of Syrian comedies, when shows produced in the country were a sought-after commodity on Arab satellite stations, has been over since the 90s. Since then, the Syrian conflict has clearly hastened the decline of the medium.

Now, a new batch of Syrian comedies are trying to revive the style — but is it too late?

The series Bokaat Daw ("Spotlight"), which went on the air in 2001, was a landmark of Syrian drama. The show dared to take on forbidden themes and subjects, at a time when TV shows were more often propaganda disguised as entertainment, and when everything was subject to strict government control, with whole episodes sometimes censored.

The oppression and violence Syria experienced during the first years of the revolution pushed some filmmakers away from comedy, which some felt didn't fit the dramatic experiences the country's people were living through. Confronting the Syrian regime through comedy also became more complex than ever.

Watch VideoShow less