Al Bernameg
| Al Bernameg | |
|---|---|
| البرنامج | |
| Genre | News satire |
| Created by | Bassem Youssef Tarek El Kazzaz |
| Written by | Bassem Youssef Khalid Mansour Ayman Wattar Shadi Alfons Mohamed Andil Hesham Mansour (season 1) Mostafa Helmy (season 1) |
| Directed by | Mohamed Khalifa |
| Starring | Bassem Youssef |
| Theme music composer | Mostafa El Halawany |
| Country of origin | Egypt |
| Original language | Arabic |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 144 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Bassem Youssef Tarek El Kazzaz |
| Production locations | Cairo, ONTV studio (2011–2012) Cairo, Radio Theatre (2012–2014) |
| Running time | Varies (about 60mins) |
| Production companies | Qsoft Group (2011–2013) EgyTheaters BIG Production (2014) |
| Original release | |
| Network | ONTV (2011–2012) Capital Broadcasting Center (2012–2013) MBC Masr (2014) |
| Release | 2011 – April 18, 2014 |
Al-Bernameg (Arabic: البرنامج, known in Egypt as El Bernameg, pronunciation: [elberˈnæːmeɡ], literally "The Show") was a controversial Egyptian news satire program. The show was hosted by Bassem Youssef and was broadcast on the satellite channels CBC, founded by GIS-affiliated businessman Mohamed El-Amin and OnTV Egypt owned by the United Media Services (UMS), a company owned by the Egyptian General Intelligence Service (Mukhabarat) since 2016. Later moved to Saudi-owned on the free-to-air channel MBC Masr and reruns are aired on Deutsche Welle; Bassem Youssef announced on 2 June 2014 that the show was cancelled.
Its satirical style, willing to poke fun at powerful personages across the political spectrum, has led the press to compare it with The Daily Show hosted by Jon Stewart, which was the inspiration for the show. Bassem Youssef visited The Daily Show as a guest in June 2012 and April 2013, while Stewart, on hiatus from his own hosting duties, returned the favour on 25 October 2013. On 1 November 2013, the show was pulled from CBC over differences with the broadcaster. The suspension of the show raised questions about media freedom in Egypt following the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état. In early 2014, MBC MASR picked up the show, airing its first episode on 7 February 2014.