A Few Saturdays with Sina

This refreshing and deeply sharp political late night talk show is truly one of my favorite weekend treats and I highly recommend it to any Farsi speakers out there. While Farsi talk shows of this format exist both within and outside Iran. None is more quality and refreshing as this show. In the deeply hyper sensitive and often dangerous world of Iranian politics, this show creates a space in which Iranians can actually find some sense of normalcy. A remarkably difficult achievement.

I have been watching this show for years. In earlier seasons the show was quite non-political but deeply and implicitly criticizing the Iranian society especially celebrities presenting or being funded by rulers of Iran. The new season, however, has become a mainstream political show with more direct criticism for the Iranian rulers. This has brought the show better cameras, effects, live music, huge popularity, etc. As stated by Sina himself, there are enough comedy shows reflecting issues in the UK and USA and he sees it as a mission for himself to only concentrate on Iran. But sadly the show has recently become a boring political cliché followed by boring guests. However, some of the guests are unseen or have something to present. Finally, the most boring part of the show is the ending where the Sina plays a game with the guest.