“Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj” presents news in a way that makes you forget you are actually hearing the news.
Netflix’s latest news-comedy show, “Patriot Act,” is where hard and relevant news meets a stand-up comedy special. Each episode is dedicated to relevant topics. In the first handful of episodes, host Minhaj has already covered affirmative action, Saudi Arabia, the oil industry and companies Amazon and Supreme.
Minhaj is a former senior correspondent for “The Daily Show” and the first Indian-American to host a weekly comedy show. In collaboration with writer Prashanth Venkataramanujam, Minhaj has created a topical show where news and pop culture are presented in a not-so-typical way.
The show is simultaneously timely and evergreen. The issues aren’t always directly related to the events or politics of the previous week, but it is relevant in our day-to-day lives.
Minhaj narrates the show like a stand-up comedian, walking and moving around and using elaborate hand motions. The show also uses enormous screens along the back of the stage to display graphics, photos and videos that give audiences a fun and visual way to comprehend hard to understand subjects.
This special way of presenting news makes Minhaj much more interesting to watch than other news-comedy hosts like fellow “Daily Show” alumnus and “Last Week Tonight” star John Oliver He adds jokes and sets the show up to resemble a comedy special so that news can be delivered in a more interesting way than by a man sitting behind a desk.
Minhaj carries the show with ease. His charisma and charming demeanor allow him to deliver news in a fun and interesting way. His stage presence captures his audience’s attention like news anchors rarely do. Even when topics are depressing and seem hopeless, Minhaj keeps the conversation light-hearted.
Minhaj uses his experiences as an Indian American, often drawing from his childhood in fun little anecdotes. He creates a different perspective on American politics from what we are used to seeing. He addresses issues in the black and Asian communities that most news channels don’t deem important enough to show.
The script for the show is written tastefully. He makes jokes regarding the president and other prominent political figures without resorting to cheap shots about personal life or physical appearances.
Minhaj is adamant about presenting factual information in his episodes. He hired journalists from The New York Times and ProPublica to ensure the information is fact-checked and unbiased.
Netflix has been releasing a plethora of comedy specials and news commentaries over the past two years, but none have stood out as much as “Patriot Act.”
