American TV series
Tyrant is an American political drama television series created by director and writer Gideon Raff and developed by Howard Gordon and Craig Wright. The first season of "Tyrant" consisting of 10 episodes premiered on American cable network FX on June 24, 2014, and ended on August 26, 2014. Subsequently, FX then went on to renew "Tyrant" for a second season which premiered on June 16, 2015, and ended on September 1, 2015.
On October 8, 2015, the network renewed the series for a third season, which premiered on July 6, 2016. On September 7, 2016, FX announced it had cancelled the series after three seasons.
Premise.
Bassam "Barry" Al-Fayeed, the younger of two sons of an infamous Middle-Eastern tyrant, has been running from his past for 20 years. Now a pediatrician living in the United States, he has an American wife, son and daughter, and no desire to revisit his familial origins. However, when he is reluctantly compelled to return to his home country (the fictional Abuddin) for his nephew's wedding, he is quickly drawn into a taut political crisis when his father dies in the midst of a growing popular revolution against the ruling family. Bassam must now attempt to use his influence to guide the new president, his brutal and unstable older brother Jamal, to a political solution that will avert a bloody conflict.
Production.
While the show was filmed throughout many cities in Israel (such as Kfar Saba, Petach Tikva, and Tel Aviv) and Morocco, because of violence between Hamas and Israel, FX moved its production from Israel to Istanbul, Turkey in 2014. The fictional Arab country of "Abuddin" is deliberately compiled out of mixed elements of a few different actual countries, in order to not appear to simulate a particular nation or situation. The producers of the series have also said that no particular sects or clans will be named while relating details. Executive producer Howard Gordon stated, "We do want to stay away from reality and yet hew to it as long as it sort of feels emotionally correct and culturally correct. I think we’re going to try to stay away from names as much as possible."
The first television promos appeared in April 2014, featuring an excerpt of the song "Wave" from the album "Morning Phase" by Beck.
Season 3 episodes were also filmed in Budapest, Hungary (June 2016).
Reception.
"Tyrant" has received mixed reviews. On Metacritic, the show holds a score of 54 out of 100 (78 out of 100 for the user review base on 150 critics), based on 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes, the show has a rating of 60%, based on 47 reviews, with an above average score of 6.2 out of 10. The consensus on the site reads: "Realizing a uniquely vital representation of life in the Middle East, "Tyrant" mostly thrives as a biting family drama set against immersive scenery".
The pilot episode had been criticized by some for Adam Rayner's lackluster performance, the show's depiction of the Middle East, and for being boring – others have said it is a nuanced performance in an understandably complicated role. Alan Sepinwall at HitFix labeled the show "messy", and criticized Adam Rayner's performance as Barry: "Rayner is so bland, so lacking in charisma in the role – Barry is by nature, a quieter, more reserved character, but there are ways to play silence that aren't remotely this dull – that it's baffling that Gordon and company would go to the trouble and risk the justifiable anger over the casting."
Some reviews were more positive. Melissa Maerz at "Entertainment Weekly" gave the show a B−, enjoying it, but admitting that the show could use some work: "With so much attention focused on this American series set in the Middle East, "Tyrant" is already an important show. Now it just has to prove that it's also a good one." At "The Arizona Republic", Randy Cordova wrote that the first season "was one of the most overheated programs on TV, in the best sense of the word." He also praised Barhom's work, saying the actor overshadowed Rayner: "Through his layered performance, Barhom brings a smoldering intensity to the role and practically drips with testosterone," Cordova writes.
The show's depiction of Jamal al-Fayeed as a rapist was also criticized. Maureen Ryan at "The Huffington Post" accused the show of using Jamal's sexual assaults to add "edge" and "atmosphere" to the show: "The women in these scenes are devices—they are there to create an atmosphere of danger or to move the plot along." "The A.V. Club"'s Emily VanDerWerff also agreed that the sexual assaults were used as plot devices: "The pilot is far too cavalier about throwing around sexual assault as a plot point, even if it's trying to make a point about women's rights in Middle Eastern nations." She added that the scenes "leave a bad taste in the mouth".
Home media.
On January 13, 2015, Fox Home Entertainment released the first season of "Tyrant" on DVD. As of June 14, 2016, the 2nd season on DVD is available for purchase on Amazon, but is manufactured on demand. The third and final season was released on DVD on August 8, 2017.
As of September 24, 2020, the series is available for streaming on Hulu.
References.
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