Sacha Baron Cohen returns to television with satirical series, Who Is America?
Was former US vice president Dick Cheney pranked for British comedian's new series, airing on Channel 4 next week?
Sacha Baron Cohen returns to our television screens next week, with a new satirical comedy series on Channel 4 and Showtime in the US.
The Ali G and Borat star has been secretly filming over the last year for Who is America?, which will “explore diverse individuals, from the infamous to the unknown across the political and cultural spectrum, who populate the unique nation.”
In a teaser posted to Twitter, the Oscar-nominated comedian reveals the show involves an interview with Dick Cheney.
That’s not the only eye-opening detail, however: The video shows the former vice president happily signing what the comedian calls a “waterboard kit” during what appears to be part of that interview.
Cheney, of course, is known for staunchly defending the controversial torture tactic known as waterboarding, which simulates the experience of drowning.
Cohen is known for pranking prominent guests by interviewing them in the guise of accented dimwits like Borat and Ali G.
“Dick Cheney, is it possible to sign my waterboard kit?” Cohen asks in an Eastern European tone that recalls Borat, his ostensibly Kazakhstani character.
“Sure,” Cheney responds immediately before signing his name on a jug of water.
“That’s a first, that’s the first time I ever signed a waterboard,” Cheney adds.
Showtime has touted the series as “the most dangerous … in the history of television” and called Cohen’s latest character “shameless” and “unhinged.”
“Sacha is a comedic genius who shocks you with his audacity, bravery and inventiveness,” Showtime CEO David Nevins said in a statement.
Donald Trump might even feature into the show in some way as well. On the Fourth of July, Cohen tweeted a video featuring the president calling him a “third rate character” who he wished would get “punched in the face so many times right now [that] he’d be in a hospital.”
Cohen famously pranked Trump for an episode of “Da Ali G Show.”
The Jewish comedian is also set to star as former Israeli Mossad agent Eli Cohen in a Netflix miniseries titled Spy, later this year.
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