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Tyrant premieres on FX this Tuesday, June 24th at 10pm ET. Written by the Emmy-winning producers of Homeland, Howard Gordon and Gideon Raff, the script borrows the theme from the original Godfather story a scion drawn reluctantly into the brutal family business and situated it in an Arab dictatorship. The first season will consist of 10 episodes. For a quick summary of the series, check out FX's First Look video on youtube.
The show has endured a turbulent production stretch for the first season, but the intriguing setting and talent behind the series make it one worth checking out. For more insight on the production including discussion of the change of director and casting the lead, see the Hollywood Reporter article from a few weeks ago: Turmoil on 'Tyrant': The Dramatic Backstory of FX's Middle East Epic. In the end, this could be a complete trainwreck or it might end up being a great series, but at the very least there is some decent buzz about the pilot and FX's recent track record is very good.
FX said:Tyrant tells the story of an unassuming American family drawn into the inner workings of a turbulent Middle Eastern nation.Bassam "Barry" Al-Fayeed (Adam Rayner), the youngest son of a war-torn country's controversial dictator, returns to his homeland after a self-imposed 20-year exile in America for his nephew's wedding. Upon his return, Barry is immediately thrown back into the familial and national politics of his youth. He braces himself to confront the stark realities of his father and older brother Jamal's (Ashraf Barhom) harsh rule, and finds himself at odds with Jamal's wife, Leila (Moran Atias), who strongly believes in a firm, unforgiving regime. Although his wife, Molly (Jennifer Finnigan), struggles to comprehend her husband's apprehension, Barry is unable and unwilling to make his all-American family understand his unease over returning home. Emma (Anne Winters), their 17-year-old daughter, adores her father and shares his disdain for the extravagances of her extended family. Meanwhile, their son, 16-year-old Sammy (Noah Silver), revels in the lavish lifestyle their "royal" status brings, but dangerously tests cultural divides with his poorly disguised interest in handsome family bodyguard Abdul (Mehdi Dehbi). Barry's only warm memory of his childhood, boyhood friend Fauzi (Fares Fares), wants nothing to do with him. Fauzi is now a journalist, whose reports on the abuses of the Al-Fayeed rule resulted in his arrest and torture. Barry must now confront the life he once fled. With his father's health in decline, everyone Jamal, their mother Amira (Alice Krige), their father's top advisor Yussef (Salim Daw), and even easygoing U.S. diplomat John Tucker (Justin Kirk) expects him to assume a more active role in both the family and the regime.
Cast:
- Adam Rayner as "Barry Al-Fayeed"
- Jennifer Finnigan as "Molly Al-Fayeed"
- Ashraf Barhom as "Jamal Al-Fayeed"
- Moran Atias as "Leila Al-Fayeed"
- Noah Silver as "Sammy"
- Anne Winters as "Emma"
- Fares Fares as "Fauzi"
- Salim Daw as "Yussef"
- Justin Kirk as "John Tucker"
- Mehdi Dehbi as "Abdul"
- Alice Maud Krige as "Amira"
Videos from FX:
- First Look (cast & crew discussion + clips)
- Running (trailer)
- Barry (trailer)
- Colossus (teaser)
- Filming in Morocco (behind the scenes feature)
Episodes
Pilot
Barry Al-Fayeed is a California pediatrician who also happens to be the second son of a Middle Eastern dictator. Barry reluctantly agrees to return home with his American family for his nephews wedding. Events thrust him into the complex and turbulent growing pains of a nation straining to break free from dictatorial rule.
Promo pics