User Reviews

The first season of Tyrant was very promising. We are left wondering who the real tyrant is. Barry and his evil brother have a dynamic that leaves you constantly intrigued. The influence of the wife and children are another force waiting to be explored. I even had some hope the homosexual son sub-plot would take a powerful turn. I could hardly wait for another episode as each one was so promising.

Season two was still satisfying but took some turns that I found unconvincing. When I saw the advertising where Barry is walking in the desert and holding the sand, I did not expect them to take such a literal turn. Daliyah's character was actually another win for the show. I held on with the expectation that season 3 would knock some exciting developments out of the park.

Season three feels like it was written by high school students filling in where previous writers abandoned ship. I'm assuming that's what happened anyway. Granted, I have only watched snippets of each episode because it got too soapy for me to continue. There were so many missed opportunities, and the direction it has taken is nonsensical. The death of Jamal was probably the point where the show ended being relevant. There is never any real drama here anymore. It just became another show that adds unnecessary grenades because the real story has been bulldozed.

I'm an Arabian and I'll review this series on that basis(sorry for any mistakes).

-(a brief history and review of Khalid)the series especially the Fayeed family has close resemblance to Saddam's Hussein Era and gulf countries Royal families. the picture which this series draw from the beginning is sadly true, unfortunately till the Arabian "spring" there were no elected president in whole 22 Arabian countries except in Lebanon, so you can imagine that every leader came by a military coup "or inheritance from his father" must clear the previous ruler's Allies to protect himself from assassination(which clearly seen in the pilot) and to prove his dominance.

-Jamal is a clear representation of children who was born with a golden spoon in their mouth and a gun in their hand, Iraq and Gulf countries have many "Jamal"s, with various degrees,for e.g Oudai Saddam Hussein was exact picture of Jamal(don't know about purity incidence). Oudai was a killer, rapist and a maniac same as Jamal.

-Bassam Aka Barry. I am conflicted about him, will he become like his father and brother as depicted in flashbacks or will he be the Arabian "spring". still to come.

-the luxury of the royal family is not exaggerated in the series and maybe downgraded (I'll leave this to your imagination) -the background and the set. Finally Arabic is written right not some gibberish or isolated letters, the wedding, music ,dancing and the "bachelor" party were nearly right.

-negative thing: they didn't show the foreign influence and i hope they will, don't think these rulers and leaders came from nothing, they're all pawn were put to control the countries income and resources and convert it to outside -Finally ,what you saw and what you going to see in this series is sadly some what true, but people started to open their eyes and start revolutions.

p.s this is my first review ever and it may be complicated but 1000 aren't enough to describe centuries of conflict and blood.

Can't discuss this series without discussing "spoilers", so hang on, here goes.

Interesting concept in Season 1 - can an Americanized expatriate son of a bloody Middle Eastern dictator manage to bring some western- values based humanity to a forlorn country long used to abuse by its autocratic rulers - first his father, and now his own brother?

In Season 1 the answer was "maybe?".

In Season 2, all of a sudden this Americanized son and brother of a brute was leading a "revolution" and a hero to his downtrodden countrymen and women? Uhhh, no, that's simply not very plausible.

And by Season 3 the series arc suddenly became the Americanized protagonist now fully Tyrant-ized, brutalizing his own people and fanatically pursuing tribal vengeance at the shrewish urging of his own Tyrant-ized wife, now focused solely on killing the killer of their daughter, no matter the cost to any other person on earth.

Sorry, I didn't much believe the noble American revolutionary leader and I sure don't buy the full circle transformation into bloody Middle Eastern tyrant - either of Barry or his seriously demented American born wife

Through the second half of Season 3 I found myself wishing someone would just take out Barry's evil you-know-what wife ... to save Barry, his son, and his entire nation the bloody outcome sure to result from the path of never-ending vengeance.

And I also found myself wishing that the producers and writers could have come up with a more nuanced Barry character and not the complete submissive idiot that he turned out to be, fully whipsawed by a combination of his wife, his terrorist nemesis Ihab, and, well, his entire situation. Not that I wished instead that Barry would somehow become a Middle Eastern Super Hero and teach all those Middle Easterners how to live like a good American ... but rather, I wanted Barry to have some sense of humility, to recognize his own limits, and to understand that absolute power corrupts absolutely (after all he had his family history to prove that), and to realize when he was in far over his head.

I sympathize with the desire to exact revenge after a senseless bloody killing of a dear family member, but stupid is as stupid does. Pretty much every single decision that Barry made in Season 3 was worthy only of someone dumber'n a box of rocks.

After Season 2's semi-ridiculous story line, in Season 3 I was hanging on in hopes of a turnaround that would get it all back to something resembling a thoughtful treatment of Middle Eastern culture clashing with western values ... instead, I'm done.

Despite most critics turning up their noses, and the dwindling audience which led to cancellation after Season 3, I found this to be one of the best TV series in years. The locations, sets, beautiful Islamic architecture and design all made this a feast for the eyes. Season 2 showed the frighteningly swift descent from a moderately affluent society of many faiths where women's head covering was optional, people drank alcohol, women attended university, where men and women associated freely and women did not need a male escort to set foot outside the home, to a war torn intolerant theocracy as religious fanatics enforced their narrow minded and warped version of Islam against the wishes of the majority by terror. Suddenly normal life is turned upside down as normality becomes daily bombings, enforced recruitment into extremist groups and years of violence and terror. I loved the multinational casting and recognized many top class actors from foreign language film and TV, but I did have a few reservations:

The American feminist bias: Clueless Molly and her children got on my nerves big time. Molly's selfish me, me, me, attitude and lack of understanding of the position her husband had been placed in really went against the grain. She appeared to have no understanding whatsoever of the position her husband had been placed in against his will and should have stayed in California. I realize she was shattered at the murder of her daughter, but hundreds of women around her were suffering the loss of their husbands and children without her self-absorbed tantrums. As a first lady she was a total fail. Having been married to a man from Abbudin one would have expected her to know something about the country and its culture. The transformation into Lady MacBeth and jealousy of Daliyah was out of character. Her equally clueless children can be somewhat forgiven as the US is very isolationist when it comes to other cultures unless they happen to be useful or the enemy of the week. Even then the news is unlikely to penetrate the video game/pop music world of the US teenager.

The casting: Although the huge cast was for the most part excellent, Ahmed, son of tall thin Leila and tall thin Bassam, was short and chubby. Bassam did not look or sound the slightest bit Arabic. It would have been far better for Keon Alexander to have been cast as Ahmed and Fares Fares as Bassam. Noah Silver was out of his depth in a major role and always looked stoned to me, even before we saw him smoking a joint. Only Moran Atias (Leila) and Alexander Karim (Ihab) really stood out. Alexander Karim was for me the most interesting and watchable character in the entire series. I have to wonder if some of the actors chosen were the 'names' needed to raise financing, just as the 60's blockbuster movies needed a big star from each country to ensure financing and distribution, or if they were wives, friends and relatives of the producers.

The use of English rather than subtitled Arabic: The accents were all over the place: Ashraf Barhom delivered his line one - word - at - a - time which painfully slowed his acting down to the level of a cartoon villain. When his character had to use English he should have been dubbed. Bassam's American accent should have given him away immediately when speaking to his brother. The Queen's English and Australian pronunciation popped up frequently and was not always explained by the character having spent time in the UK. English should only have been used when the English speakers were speaking to each other or with an Arabic speaker. All conversation between Arabic speakers should have been in Arabic with English subtitles. Non English speakers who were delivering their lines phonetically when it was necessary for them to use English, such as Jamal, should have been dubbed.

Too many characters: Even though I binge watched, I found myself turning to IMDB to refresh my memory of who was who as minor characters not seen for several episodes suddenly returned to be killed or whatever.

The unnecessary inclusion of gay characters: Why do so many TV series today seem obliged to include a gay storyline? I do not want to see a couple of men (or women for that matter) get naked. Rather than showing gays making love and kissing, it could be implied 'off camera' or with a shocked expression and/or lowered eyes by another character. The intolerance and persecution of homosexuals in one of the earlier episodes was well handled and made the point, but the love affair between Sammy and his professor was superfluous. I found myself fast forwarding through those scenes.

The killing off of characters who could have been further developed: Nushrat and Rami were a most attractive couple and could have carried a fourth season, but instead they were killed off. Rami could have been the contender for President. A big waste.

Too much soap opera: The revelations of previously unknown illegitimate sons were right out of a Mexican soap opera parody on Saturday Night Live. The story was also bogged down by tedious romances. I got really tired of Molly's histrionics and Daliyahs tearful eyes and trembling lips. At least Leila had some spine, but her 'romance' with General Clodhopper, the Victor Mature lookalike, had more of a whiff of opportunism. She was no slouch at playing both sides and switching allegiances when necessary.

Season 2 was far better than the first Season, but Season 3 was 'The Godfather on the Tigris'. The resemblance to the Corleone family was unmissable: Bassam as Michael, Jamal as Fredo, Leila as Connie, Sammy and Emma as Anthony and Mary, along with the supporting players unable to escape their destiny. The final episode left me with the desire to see the story wrapped up, but after watching it twice, I realised that it was spot on: The conflict would never end because it cannot end. There was no happy ending. no easy answers and that is how it is. Bassam would either be overthrown in a coup by General Maloof, and his family exiled or murdered, or he would double down and become a total tyrant and stay in power for the next 40 years. Leila now in exile may or may not prevail and will be courted by various foreign powers, until it is her turn. General Clodhopper would write a book and become a TV regular urging US action. Ihab would become public enemy No. 1 until he was taken out or overthrew Bassam and became President. Everyone would change sides. The US/Russians/Chinese would throw money at the conflict, probably supporting both sides at the same time. There are no easy answers. The US marines will not come riding to the rescue.

Overall, I found this to be an absorbing series despite the criticism listed. It had to be for me to binge watch three seasons over three days. Better casting would have made a difference.

Why oh why must hollyweird always cast a Caucasian to play the good guy? I mean really the good Al Fayeed son with smarts and scruples is a blue eyed Caucasian? Really? They had no problem casting a native to play the ruthless, irrational, neurotic brother, but the savior with the voice of reason who became a man in the good ole U. S. of A wouldn't do if he were not a white.

How then is any one supposed to take the show seriously if the creators could not take casting the main character seriously? Also that woman who plays Hassan's wife drives me crazy with her obvious over over rhinoplasty. And I can't get over all the contrived accents. An 8 on IMDb? How is that possible?

If I rated each season, the first would be 10, the second a 7 or 8, and the third 0 or less. The other reviewers covered the specifics well. I guess if you wanted the series to end, they knew how to do it well. The zombification of Molly and her needing to breed was pole vaulting the shark. Who would have thought Jamal and Laila were the likeable ones?!?

Bassam 'Barry' Al-Fayeed is the second son of a dictator in the fictional Middle Eastern country of Abuddin. He lives a western non-religious life as a Californian pediatrician with his wife Molly (Jennifer Finnigan), secretly gay son Sammy and daughter Emma. He reluctantly returns home with his family after 20 years to attend his nephew's wedding. His brother Jamal (Ashraf Barhom) is a vicious cruel man and the heir apparent. He had a relationship with Jamal's wife Leila (Moran Atias). What starts as a lavish wedding turns into a harrowing situation where Barry must confront his birthright.

This starts with a bad premise. It's hard to root for people who are such idiots. The wife and kids are all idiots to go to Abuddin and worst stay in Abuddin. Killing off Emma in season 3 comes two seasons too late. Sammy is probably the worst of them all. Apparently, he's one of those gays who can't control himself and flings himself at anybody on his gaydar. Molly makes no sense. Any mother worth her salt would be scared for her children at the first sign of trouble. Barry is fine in this aspect but he's horrible in others. He is a cartoon humanist. This show would work infinitely better if he becomes Walter White and turns to the dark side. The father and Jamal are also cartoons but at least they're the fun kind. They have joy chewing up the scenes. As for the religious conflict, the real life comparison leaves this show in the dust. I can understand the showrunners started with an intriguing premise post Arab Spring. The problem is that the real world has surpassed it and made it its bitch. There is no contest. This is a Syria wannabe and the real Syria is so much more scary.

Absolutely riveting, beautifully acted and painfully tragic storytelling! I Loved this story and couldnt set it aside till the end. Innocence lost, good intention gone awry, A son becomeing what he loathed most and not even realising it was happening, until it was too late.. whoa! What a beautiful and sad story this is ..The love of power corrupting those who who succumb to it...The backdrop and cineamatography of this show is mesmerizing and is eclipsed only by the Incredibly beautiful women that are in its cast... So Very highly recommended ,Drama that hits hard and makes you feel...

As a Middle-Eastern, I pretty much comprehend the concept of this series. I am a Jew born in Israel, a grandson to Jewish grandparents who immigrated from Iraq, I have heard plenty of stories from my grandfather about the life in an Arab country, about its glory days and its very elegant lifestyle but also heard about the brutality and mercilessness which often characterizes the Arab leaders in certain Arab countries.

In addition, as an Israeli, I am updated in all of the scenarios in the Arab world, and how unstable the Arab world is.

You can sense the extravagant Arab lifestyle in the first episode of the series, this exaggerated lifestyle traits the way most of the Arab leaders used to live and are still living nowadays, you can sense the frustration and the torment of the lower population strata, it makes the series very realistic because it brings back the memories of the "Arab Spring".

As other people have already written, the plot of the story unfolds the story of Bassam Al-Fayeed which was the second son of Khaled Al-Fayeed, Bassam suffers from childhood traumas which had a vast reflection on his life as a person and as a family man. His brother Jamal can be compared to Saddam Hussein's first child, a "hothead", truculent and sort of a psychotic pervert.

As for now, basing on the pilot, I find this series very interesting and very realistic, reflects the life in the Arab countries of the Middle- East, Gideon Raff did a fantastic job with the script and I hope this series will not disappoint us.