Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj will no longer continue its run on Netflix, Minhaj confirmed in a tweet yesterday. The show, described as "a TED Talk on the set of Blade Runner" (it won an Emmy for outstanding motion design) was also a primer for representation in mainstream comedy.
Minhaj's sneaker game, his hand gestures, Tan France trying to give him a makeover, and even his interaction with the viral meme group 'Subtle Curry Traits' has caused him to be darling to many. His sharp, critical lens has also caused much ire, with him being blacklisted from the frenzy of 'Howdy Modi'.
Minhaj's show's cancellation comes on the heels of Netflix ending shows like The Break With Michelle Wolf, The Joel McHale Show With Joel McHale ,and Chelsea, a talk show with comedian Chelsea Handler.
Here are five episodes from the 6 season run that we thought were the best- most entertaining, and most illuminating.
This penultimate episode of the very first season made headlines as soon as it dropped. Netflix removed it from streaming in Saudi Arabia after Saudi officials complained it was critical of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) over his alleged role in the brutal dismembering of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Minhaj was later critical of Netflix over the move. The toilet lota makes a special appearance, be warned.
Minhaj takes a moment to address one of America's open secret- how the pharma companies are fuelling the Opioid crisis with rising fentanyl use with the rise of prescription opiates. It's searing, and heartbreaking, mainstreaming the accusatory whispers.
The highlight here is Minhaj describing Lalit Modi, in an interview with him, as having "Big Dick Energy". Minhaj gets to the corruption inherent in Cricket with India's BCCI controlling the global ICC, thus stifling cricket's potential to reach smaller countries. Despite being a cricket non-fan, this was both fun and factual.
This was a diptych episode, with one half talking about Narenda Modi's victory in the 2019 Election, and the odd character that is Pragya Thakur, Bhopal's MP. He has a golden moment meme-ing the Akshay Kumar – Narenda Modi interview, which is even more ridiculous in dubbed-translation, "That sounds like a five-year-old interviewing a doll." (His previous attempt at describing the Indian election process, BJP's violence and Congress' incompetence got him Twitter heat)
From there he swivels to discuss the 1MDB Scandal involving Goldman Sachs, the Malaysian Prime Minister, PSY, The Wolf Of Wall Street and … Paris Hilton… it's wild!
If nothing else, this episode will fuel one's Marie Kondo minimalism, showing how fast fashion, forged by Instagram trends, destroys the planet, and gives sanction to awful labour conditions in the Global South.