13th-Century Persian poet and philosopher Rumi said that the wound is the place where the light enters you. In the case of Ramy Youssef, co-creator of Prime Video’s new adult animated comedy #1 Happy Family USA, the wound is also the place where the comedy enters.
Based on his own experience of growing up as a Muslim in post-9/11 America, Youssef and co-creator Pam Brady turned a family’s pain, shame, fear, and doubt into a TV show he describes as “the weirdest, funnest, most fucked up piece of my heart.”
The show opens on the Egyptian-American family, the Husseins, the day before 9/11. Blissfully oblivious of events to come, Hussein welcomes his brother Ahmed to the USA, where they both innocently plan to bring their Halal street food to every corner of New York in the weeks to come. But as shocking events and a relentless news cycle come to dominate their lives, the Husseins find themselves in a state of fear, and questioning what it means to be Muslim in a new America, grieving, and siezed by Islamophobia.
For Patriarch Hussein (Ramy Youssef), ever in a quest to prove to his neighbors and the government that he is a patriotic citizen, it means changing his looks and outward personality to avoid terrifying his neighbors. For Mom Sharon/Sharia (Salma Hindy), it’s all about reconnecting with her faith. Meanwhile ambitious daughter Mona (Alia Shawkat) struggles with choosing the right time to reveal her sexuality to the family. And 12 year old Rumi (Ramy Youssef again) just wants to make a mix-tape for his weirdly inappropriate teacher, Mrs. Malcolm (Mandy Moore.) Throw in alcoholic FBI agent Dan (Timothy Olyphant), newly moved in across the street, and we have a recipe for paranoia, terror, and a whole lot of badly interpreted signals, all viewed through the lens of comedy.
In one episode, Rumi accidentally poisons two classmates when he attempts to make himself more popular with his classmates. In another, he is convinced he must burn the school down in order to retrieve a sexy mixtape he made for his teacher before the FBI comes to haul him away for piracy. Uncle Ahmed, arrested in the first episode, pops up now and again, alternately beaten, imprisoned, tortured, but ever frantically optimistic.
Deeply satirical, never not absurd, and at times surprisingly heartbreaking, #1 Happy Family USA attempts to redefine the practice of finding humor in hardship. And for the most part, it succeeds very well.
Set in 2001, the art style from Pulitzer prize winning Creative Director Mona Chalabi is a deliberate throwback to the hand-drawn animated comedies of the day that serves to cement the show in both in time and location. In an additional creative spin, the Husseins, now obsessed with “code switching,” literally change their appearance as they leave and enter their house, becoming more or less Americanized (Hussein wears a cowboy hat outside, while Sharon — now Shaira — dons a hijab) as they step through their front door.
I’ll admit to feeling an initial sense of misgiving before reviewing #1 Happy Family USA (I then binged the first season and interviewed showrunner Pam Brady and creative director Mona Chalabi this week). However, doubts regarding how the show might respectfully handle one of the most shocking moments in recent American history, and whether it might resort to stereotyping an already marginalized community were quickly dispelled.
Yes, the show might sail close to the sun at times, but it remains grounded by warmth, humor, a surprising dollop of pathos, and the gentle reminder that at its heart is a family, just like mine and yours, struggling to get by in a world increasingly at odds with itself.
Starring are Ramy Youssef (Rumi Hussein, Hussein Hussein), Alia Shawkat (Mona Hussein), Salma Hindy (Sharia Hussein), Randa Jarrar (Grandma), Mandy Moore (Mrs. Malcolm), Chris Redd (Marcus), Akaash Singh (Dev), Whitmer Thomas (Garrett aka TTFN), Timothy Olyphant (Dan), Paul Elia (Uncle Ahmed) and Kieran Culkin (Dr. Riley).
#1 Happy Family USA airs all 8 episodes on Prime Video on Thursday, April 17.
