Hasan Minhaj's 'Patriot Act' canceled

Comedian Hasan Minhaj

Netflix didn't renew Hasan Minhaj's Patriot Act for next season which is too bad. The comedian's political brand of humor that shows the absurdity of much that's going on today is needed more than ever.

No reason was given for the end of a show that won an Emmy and a Peabody Award.

The comedian tweeted the announcement Tuesday morning. “@patriotact has come to an end. I got to work with the best writers, producers, researchers, and animators in the game,” Minhaj wrote.

The show aired 29 episodes since it started in October of 2018.

Patriot Act was a rare show giving an Asian American perspective on news of the day. One of my favorite episodes (below) was aired after the killing of George Floyd where he called out Asian Americans for their their anti-Black bias.

Netflix has had problems with late night comedians.. Over the last few years, the streamer has ended series like "The Break With Michelle Wolf," "The Joel McHale Show With Joel McHale" and "Chelsea," a talk show with comedian Chelsea Handler.

Hasan Minhaj is not joking in a powerful message to Asian Americans, "We cannot stay silent about George Floyd

Hasan Minhaj, host of Netflix's Patriot Act, gave an impassioned plea aimed directly at Asian Americans and why AAPI need to support the George Floyd protestors and for equal justice for all People of Color, especially Black Americans.

The comedian wasn't joking when he dropped a Patriot Act Digital Exclusive episode on YouTube titled ‘We Cannot Stay Silent About George Floyd.’ that excoriated the anti-black sentiment that permeates through AAPI communities.

In the 12-minute long episode, that has since gone viral on social media, he starts in his typical style pointing out the absurdity of some situations:

“Asians, we love seeing Black excellence — Barack, Michelle, JAY [-Z], Beyoncé, the Travis Scott [Air Jordan] 4s. We spent the last five weeks praying at the altar of Michael Jordan. How could we be afraid? We love Black America. Yeah, on screen in our living rooms. But if a Black man walks in your living room or wants to date, God forbid, marry your daughter, you call the cops.”

Then he dives into the colorism that exists in Asian culture where lighter skin is coveted and dark skin is looked down on.

And to drive his point home, he shows of picture of former Minneapolis police officer Tuo Thao, one of the four officers who were involved in the arrest and death of Floyd. While three officers restrained Floyd, Thao stood in front of the onlookers videotaping the incident.

"That is America. A black man was murdered in cold blood, and we were on the f**king sidelines watching," said Minhaj, calling for non-black POC to take a more active role. "I'm not saying we were the ones who killed George Floyd. But we have to be the ones who pull that cop off his neck!"

"We think we're not a part of the story, but we're at the scene of the crime! That's why the full picture matters. This doesn't happen in a vacuum — it happens in a system," he continued.

"We have to donate our money and time to black organizations," said the second-generation Indian American. "We have got to get our civics law school nerd shit on right now."

He specifically challenged Asian immigrants: "America's story didn't start when we got here," said Minhaj. "When you became an American citizen you don't just get to own the country's excellence. You have to own its failures. That is the deal."

He concluded with a direct appeal to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who is on a first-name basis with his fellow Muslim American to aggressively prosecute the four former officers, "to set a precedent, so the next time we see a cop with a knee on a black man's neck, we see it for what it is -- murder.!"

Seriously though, don't ignore the Asian American vote In 2020, says Hasan Minhaj

NETFLIX

Hasan Minhaj and Andrew Yang interview an Asian American voter.

Making someone laugh gets them to lower their walls and sometimes, insight breaks through. Hasan Minhaj's Patriot Act on Netflix does that in his latest episode released Dec. 1, "Don't Ignore The Asian Vote in 2020."

Using disarming humor, the Sacramento-born Indian American, jabs elbows in the ribs of Asian American voters and the major political parties of the US.

"It's pander season, baby," Minhaj opens.

“Despite our growing numbers, politicians and the media ignore us,” Minhaj says.

What a dilemma: Asian American voters have voter turnout because they are mostly ignored by the Democrats and Republicans. On the other hand, the Dems and GOP don't bother with Asian American voters because they don't vote.

Using statistics from AAPI Data, Minhaj points out how Asian American communities have turned elections in Virginia and Orange County, CA.

He interviews Andrew Yang's about his beef with MSNBC and Cory Booker about reaching out to his Asian American electorate in New Jersey. 

Minhaj points out the importance of immigration policy to the diverse Asian American communities and suggests that a good slogan for a candidates is "I'll let your cousing in."

With less than a year left before Americans pick their President, it behooves Asian American voters to pay attention to the primaries and the candiadtes. For Democrats and Republicans, they ignore Asian Americans at their own peril. That's no joke.

Patriot Act is available for streaming on Netflix.

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