Citizen Khan

Citizen Khan
Series 4 & 5 Title Card
GenreSitcom
Created byAdil Ray
Developed byAnil Gupta
Richard Pinto
Adil Ray
Written byAnil Gupta
Richard Pinto
Adil Ray
Directed byNick Wood
StarringAdil Ray
Shobu Kapoor
Bhavna Limbachia
Maya Sondhi
Abdullah Afzal
Kris Marshall
Matthew Cottle
Krupa Pattani
Theme music composerKam Frantic
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series5
No. of episodes34 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerMark Freeland
ProducerPaul Schlesinger
Production locations
Running time25–28 minutes
Production companyBBC
Original release
NetworkBBC One (2012–2016)
BBC One HD (2012–2016)
Release27 August 2012 (2012-08-27) –
23 December 2016 (2016-12-23)
Related
Bellamy's People
Down the Line
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Citizen Khan is a British sitcom produced by the BBC and created by Adil Ray. It ran for five series, from 2012 to 2016. It is set in Sparkhill, South Birmingham, described by its lead character, a British Pakistani man Mr Khan (Ray), as "the capital of British Pakistan". Citizen Khan follows the trials and tribulations of Mr Khan, a loud-mouthed, patriarchal, cricket-loving, self-appointed community leader, and his long suffering wife (played by Shobu Kapoor) and daughters Shazia (Maya Sondhi 2012–2014, Krupa Pattani 2015–2016) and Alia (Bhavna Limbachia).[1] In Series One, Kris Marshall starred as Dave, the manager of Mr Khan's local mosque.[1] The first name of Mrs Khan is Razia; however, Mr Khan's first name is never revealed.

The title of the show is a play on the title of the Orson Welles film Citizen Kane.[2] The character Mr Khan had already featured in the BBC Two comedy series Bellamy's People,[3] on BBC Radio 4's Down the Line[1] and on his own online series on the BBC Comedy website.[4] On 27 September 2012, the BBC announced that Citizen Khan had been commissioned for a second series.[5] On 2 December 2013, BBC controller Charlotte Moore announced that Citizen Khan had been renewed for a third series which began airing on 31 October 2014.[6] On 11 December 2014, BBC comedy controller Shane Allen announced that a fourth series had been commissioned.[7] On 14 October 2015, the official Facebook page of Citizen Khan confirmed through a video of Mr Khan that the fourth series would begin on 30 October 2015. On 20 January 2016, it was confirmed the show would return for a fifth and final series which started airing on 4 November 2016.

Although Adil Ray is a Muslim, the show has divided opinion on whether its humour is a mockery of followers of that religion and of stereotyping British Pakistanis. Ray maintains that Mr Khan is a comic character who is intended for families of any ethnic background to relate to, as with other British family sitcoms.[8]

  1. ^ a b c "A new sitcom for BBC One created by and starring Adil Ray". BBC. 17 August 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  2. ^ khuramshaz (27 August 2012). "BBC: Citizen Khan". Musk & Moccasin. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  3. ^ "TV series for Bellamy's People character Mr Khan?". British Comedy Guide. 8 April 2010. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  4. ^ "BBC – Comedy – Clips from 'Mr Khan'". BBC. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  5. ^ "Citizen Khan gets second series from BBC despite 'anti-Islam' controversy". Metro. 27 September 2012.
  6. ^ "Citizen Khan to return for third series on BBC One". Digital Spy. 2 December 2013.
  7. ^ Lee, Ben (11 December 2014). "Citizen Khan to return for a fourth series". Digital Spy. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference dont was invoked but never defined (see the help page).