New four part sitcom Man Like Mobeen is to air on BBC1 after a successful recent launch on BBC Three. The show is written by and stars comedian Guz Khan and offers viewers a comical insight into working class life as an ethnic minority, addressing issues including arranged marriage, the alt-right and racial profiling, in the setting of Birmingham, created by one of the UK’s most distinct and exciting voices.
The first two episodes (Bagpuss and Wifey Riddim) will air on Sunday 14 January from 23:30 on BBC One and the last two episodes (Upper Room and H-ALTRight) will air on Sunday 21 January (time TBC - after Match of the Day).
The whole series is also available now on BBC Three on BBC iPlayer.
See below for a synopsis of the series.
Man Like Mobeen Series 1, Ep1 & Ep2 – TX Sunday 14 January on BBC One
Ep1 Bagpuss at 23:30
Mobeen receives a surprise visit from armed police, who arrest Eight on suspicion of supplying drugs to schoolchildren in Small Heath - based on the description of an 'Asian male in tracksuit bottoms'. The real culprit is Shahid, a local dealer who has enlisted the help of his mum's cousin's cousin, 14-year-old Kareema, to move his gear. But Mobeen refuses to snitch. When Kareema asks Mobeen's little sister Aks to help her hide the drugs from the police, she follows her brother's example. However, when Mobeen finds out, he has no other option than to go looking for Shahid- but will his actions have more far-reaching consequences?
Ep2 Wifey Riddim at 23:50
When Mobeen learns that his little sister Aks has been suspended from school for fighting, he realises that he might not be the best role model to parent her. So when he bumps into two notorious uncles after Friday prayers, they suggest that an arranged marriage might bring a much-needed female perspective into Aks's life.
Initially Mobeen quashes the idea, but upon reflection with best friends Eight and Nate, he comes to the realisation that an arranged marriage might very well be the answer to all his problems. Uncle Habib arranges for him to meet Khadijah and her father, but things don't quite go to plan when 'weird' Uncle Shady also turns up to the meeting.
Man Like Mobeen Series 1, Ep3 & Ep4 – TX Sunday 21 January on BBC One
Ep3 Upper Room – Time TBC (after Match of the Day)
Eight has gone missing, so Mobeen and Nate go on a mission to find him. On discovering him hiding in an abandoned den deep in a Small Heath wood, Eight reveals that his beloved Dadha is dying and wants to see the boys one last time before he passes to the upper room.
When the friends visit him on his death bed, they are disturbed to hear that Dadha has been keeping a dark secret and needs the boys to help him visit the family video shop one last time before he dies. After a terrifying escape, the boys encounter something they definitely weren’t expecting.
Ep4 H-ALTRight – Time TBC (after Match of the Day)
Staring hate, violence and societal fractures in the face, Mobeen and his crew see the far right in their truest form at an anti-Islam demonstration. After Aks throws a flask and hits the leader Robbie Worthington square in the face, Mobeen takes the blame and is subsequently arrested.
However, he is accidently placed in the same police van as Robbie. As Mobeen and Robbie go head to head inside the van, outside the van (and much to Aks’s dismay) Eight and Nate desperately need to go to the toilet but can’t escape the police cordon. Eventually they decide to brave the toilet in the only pub for miles around, which is liberally adorned with St George’s flags.
