Netflix has finally canned one of its most liked talk shows, Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj. The series started out in October 2018 and lasted for six seasons with 40 episodes and remains the longest running Netflix talk show to date. Through the popularity of the series, Minhaj has grown a cult following and even been included in Time Magazines 100 most influential people in the world list of 2019.
Minhaj announced the end of the series on his Twitter.
https://twitter.com/hasanminhaj/status/1295726954751168517?s=20
“What a run,” Minhaj wrote on Twitter. “‘Patriot Act’ has come to an end. I got to work with the best writers, producers, researchers, and animators in the game. My 2 babies were born and grew up with the show. TY to @netflix and everyone who watched. Now it’s time to return these screens to Best Buy.”
Patrio Act’s Impact
https://twitter.com/originalspin/status/1295751638976573440?s=20
The show was well liked for its educational format, where the host, Hasan Minhaj would spent around thirty minutes on a single topic, with the aid of graphics, stats, video clips and plenty of jokes. Minhaj also took his role as a Muslim Indian seriously, openly talking about his culture and roots which made the show a hit among the Asian expats. Minhaj, who started out as a correspondent on The Daily Show before leaving that to pursue Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. The comedy web series also has its episodes and deep cuts on its YouTube page.
Patriot Act became one of the most talked about Netflix weekly series thanks to viral moments with people like Justin Trudeau. However, despite how well liked the show was, it wasn’t trending on social media all that much and never broke through the way shows like The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon and Ellen have. That said, the series has a Peabody, Emmy and two Webby Awards to its claim. Minhaj got the Netflix gig after the one two punch of his White House Correspondents dinner speech getting major buzz and his Netflix special Homecoming King receiving rave reviews.
The show did counter some controversy, an episode that criticized Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman had to be removed from the service in Saudi Arabia. Similarly an episode on the Indian Election which criticized BJP government and Modi, received flack from within India. The May 2019 episode which talked about the Philippine general election drew such controversy within Philippines that the official home of the President Malacanang Palace released a statement against the show.
It is yet to be determined if the cancellation of the show was Minhaj’s decision or Netflix’s. The streaming service has long been trying to make a weekly talk show work but so far all their attempts, from the Joel McHale show, to Michelle Wolf and Chelsea Handler’s respective shows, have failed to connect. The Patriot Act was able to put such popular people in the show such as John Mulaney, Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Occasio Cortez, Sonia Gujajara, Justin Trudeau among others.
There are no details on whether the show will seek a new home on another network or finish completely.