''Basmat Watan'' ( ar, ب س م ا ت و ط ن) is a political satire and slapstick programme that airs via the

Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation The Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International ( ar, المؤسسة اللبنانية للإرسال انترناسيونال), widely known as LBCI, is a private television station in Lebanon. LBCI was founded in 1992 by acquiring the asse ...

, a privately owned television station in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. 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 paronomasia, 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 the intentional use of homophonic ...

, as in

Lebanese Arabic Lebanese Arabic ( ar, عَرَبِيّ لُبْنَانِيّ ; autonym: ), or simply Lebanese ( ar, لُبْنَانِيّ ; autonym: ), is a Varieties of Arabic, variety of North Levantine Arabic, indigenous to and spoken primarily in Lebano ...

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 ( ar, رفيق بهاء الدين الحريري; 1 November 1944 – 14 February 2005) was a Lebanese business tycoon and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from ...

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 Michel Naim Aoun ( ar, ميشال نعيم عون ; born 30 September 1933) is a Lebanese politician and former military general who served as the President of Lebanon from 31 October 2016 until 30 October 2022. Born in Haret Hreik to a Mar ...

, leader of the

Free Patriotic Movement The Free Patriotic Movement ( ar, التيار الوطني الحر, ) is a Lebanese political party. Founded by Michel Aoun in 2005, the party is currently led by Aoun son-in-law Gebran Bassil since 2015. Ideology The Free Patriotic movement ...

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

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

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