Ramy Youssef‘s “#1 Happy Family USA,” which follows a Muslim-American family in post-9/11 America (the premiere takes place on Sept. 10, 2001) should not be a representation of the community, the creator told audiences ahead of the premiere at the SXSW TV and Film Festival on March 9.
“There’s a representation warning in the beginning of every episode that tells you not to use this show as representation. I have had a very torn relationship with representation and the idea of what it should do or what it is,” he told the audience in Austin ahead of the premiere. “This is a show about capitalism. And I think when you watch the first couple of episodes, you’ll see that, but it is certainly not representative of Arabs or Muslims — many of which will, I think, see things that they really appreciate and other things where they’ll be like, ‘What the fuck, Ramy. Why do you do this stuff?’”
He also revealed he pitched the A24 series during President Donald Trump’s first run.
“That’s how long it’s been. Remember the happy Trump? He’s sad now, by the way. I don’t know if you guys noticed,” he said to a laughing audience. “I don’t think he likes this either. I haven’t seen him smile once, the whole time. The first time he’s always laughing. So yeah, shout out to him… This guy is miserable!”
Courtesy of Prime
After showing the first three episodes, Youssef was joined by co-showrunner Pam Brady and executive producer and illustrator Mona Chalabi on stage. Chalabi said she “could see the world” right when she read the first scripts.
“The whole show was designed by Muslims,” Youssef revealed. Chalabi had only done “basic motion design” before the show, but really was able to develop the characters in the writers room. “We all knew that she would kill it,” Youssef said, adding that Prime Video completely supported the process. “We sold this in 2020, and I really feel like if we walked intoday, they’d be like, ‘What the fuck are you talking about?’”
Per the official synopsis, “#1 Happy Family USA” follows “the maniacally upbeat Husseins – the most patriotic, most peaceful, and most definitely-not-suspicious Muslim family in post-9/11 ‘Amreeka.’ With satire and absurdity, it redefines finding humor in hardship as they navigate the early 2000s under the watchful eyes of their terrified neighbors.”
All eight episodes premiere April 17 on Prime Video.
