Saw a promo clip last night, did a search on AVS, turned up nothing, so here you go
“Tyrant,” from Howard Gordon (“24″/”Homeland”), tells the story of an unassuming American family drawn into the workings of a turbulent Middle Eastern nation. It is set for Tuesday nights at 10, starting June 24.
John Landgraf, CEO, FX Networks and FX Productions.
"With Tyrant, Howard Gordon, Gideon Raff and Craig Wright have produced a beautiful television pilot that will be a groundbreaking television series," said Landgraf. "Tyrant introduces characters and a world that have never been explored in a dramatic television series format. There is a reason a bidding war broke out over this project: it grabs you as all great epics do and simply refuses to let go!"
Tyrant tells the story of an unassuming American family drawn into the workings of a turbulent Middle Eastern nation. Bassam "Barry" Al Fayeed, the younger son of the dictator of a war-torn nation, ends a self-imposed 20-year exile to return to his homeland, accompanied by his American wife and children, for his nephew’s wedding. Barry’s reluctant homecoming leads to a dramatic clash of cultures as he is thrown back into the familial and national politics of his youth.
FX has developed quite a stable of shows over the last few years .. although I'm not into each and every one, they do seem to keep swinging at being a real alternative to the old networks ..
This show definitely looks to me like it deserves a shot ..
Start off great is an understatement. It was amazing, a little predictable for a couple of things. But man, there are some messed up dudes on this show, lets see if it can stay going strong.
The show has a fascinating premise but a lack of compelling characters. The lead Barry is a cold fish, and his wife is an annoying idiot who can't take a damn hint about anything. The gay son who thinks it's a great idea to go to an Islamic country and flirt with another boy in a steam room is also very contrived for soap opera melodrama.
I will follow for a few episodes to see where it goes, but I'm a little disappointed so far.
I agree with everything you said about this show. I've watched 3 episodes,but the gay son is putting me off big time! Seriously,the arab kid goes down on Barry's son? Why do they have to throw that crap in there? Instead of saying sexual situations as a whole,why not add homosexual situations. At least then I know I'm not going to watch it. I'm not a bigot,I have a right to feel what I feel! The wife is super annoying,can't believe he would marry that. I'll give it an episode or 2 before it comes off the rotation. There are other good shows that aren't pushing homosexuality in my face..
I almost did the same after reading Maureen Ryan's negative pre-airing review. But I did decide to watch it and I'm glad I did. While a bit over the top it provides a nice, somewhat exotic, diversion from the usual fare.
So why did he decide to take the family to the wedding?
He left the country at 16 and hasn't been back since he grew up, raised a family with two teen children. That's a long time.
Why choose to go back? Especially as the flashbacks make clear, it's not his psycho brother and despot father he fears but himself.
The show has been compared to Godfather, with Barry to Michael Corleone. Idea is that both sons are alienated from the family business but they get inexorably sucked right into it. What makes a pediatrician from SoCal want to risk being pulled into the madness of the Middle East?
I knew The Godfather and Tyrant is no The Godfather. The pilot was exciting enough to make me decide to stick with it for a few more episodes but I have seldom if ever seen anything more contrived or unconvincing.
It's his fault for not talking about his childhood, after 19 years of marriage and 2 children. They must have something in store as the 20th anniversary approaches.
I had low expectations for the show due to a podcast I listen to. The podcast was right, but it was not as bad as I was expecting. Since they partially said how the show moves ahead (no plot) I can see why it does so. This isn't as bad Last Ship, so I'll stick with it. I really wish they had used someone of middle eastern descent for the lead however.
I'm watching mostly due to its lineage. "Tyrant" is created by Gideon Raff, who is also responsible for the very good "Homeland" and the simply outstanding Israeli series "Prisoners of War(Hatufim)". "Homeland" was based/derived from the Israeli original. "Tyrant" is filmed entirely in Israel and is supposedly loosely based on the story of how Syria's Bashar al-Assad goes from being an eye doctor to a murderous dictator.
Interesting that Tyrant hasn't caught the imagination of this forum.
I think it's very high quality stuff, a worthy member of the new golden age of television that we're enjoying. Maybe the setting and principals - the heads of government in an Islamic dictatorship - are so foreign to us that nobody can wrap their heads around it. But the plotting and dialog are excellent so far. Low on cliches. Absolutely fascinating brothers. Psychologically complex. Give this a chance. I have high hopes for it. (But who knows if it will get ratings.)
I think it's very high quality stuff, a worthy member of the new golden age of television that we're enjoying...Give this a chance. I have high hopes for it. (But who knows if it will get ratings.)
it's very good drama & interesting characters. the internal struggle to stay or go back to the US, the issues with what he knows is wrong with his brother and the regime.
what's going to be interesting is if the brother is the "tyrant" or he'll become the "tyrant" because his brother gets killed or has to step down. I think with the scenes when they're kids where he shows himself more willing to kill someone in cold blood, may suggest he's the real tyrant, fighting his own demons.
exactly! he's trying to do the right thing but I in the end, it's very possible the culture & his family's regime could just win out over his principles, wear him down so that he eventually accepts them.
or it could be a clever play on words by the show's writers
When I posted after the pilot I said I would stick around for a while. I changed my mind though and deleted my season pass. I will continue to check in here to see if I end up hating myself for bailing out early.
Sorry, but my argument is far from weak. I watch none of those shows. Woman on woman is not ok either! For thousands of years it wasn't ok, now all of the sudden we are civilized and embrace it. Why? There are just certain groups out there that feel the need to change everything. whats next? There are no morals anymore.
Well, at least it's good to know you're "not a bigot". That's an interesting claim since you also say you consider homosexuality amoral. My guess is there are a lot of gay folks who would disagree with you vociferously if you said that to their face.
As to why, I suspect it has to do with the fact that, as scientific knowledge progresses, we're not as ignorant of a great many things as we used to be "thousands of years ago". You called it yourself: we're more civilized now. Most people consider that a good thing.
When 50% of the population is homosexual, get back to me. Pushing an agenda doesn't make you more civilized. These shows can hint at homosexuality, just don't show it. Its just Hollywood pushing the enevelope. Next week, lets throw this out there and see if it sticks.
You assume it is some sort of agenda by Hollywood, to do what .. ?? Appeal to the gay populace .. ?? Shock value .. ?? Or, maybe, just by a long shot, it's a reflection of the way things are in the Real World .. ??
Let's bring Andy of Mayberry back and things others might find distasteful will then magically disappear ..
It's not morality that's lacking, it's tolerance and acceptance ..
Congratulations! You formed your own opinion.. Once again,I just want to be informed that there will be homosexual content on a show via the tv ratings. That way other people like myself can make a decision to whether we want to watch the show or not. Its really not hard to understand. Good luck with the thread,I'm out.
....Once again,I just want to be informed that there will be homosexual content on a show via the tv ratings. That way other people like myself can make a decision to whether we want to watch the show....
Sounds like the solution. There is a warning for sexual content. Heterosexual content makes some people uncomfortable. There was a very funny "Zits"comic recently of Dad being very uncomfortable watching HBO with his son. I've has similar discomfort with my daughter. Regardless of what one thinks about homosexual behavior, fair advance warning is a good thing.
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