【My Sister in law Reluctantly Climbed on Top】

Comedy Central greenlit Mideast Minute -- Pardis Parker's satirical news show that "tries to convince Middle Easterners that everything’s OK in the Middle East" -- in November,My Sister in law Reluctantly Climbed on Top several weeks before President Donald Trump's Muslim ban.

Not even Parker could've predicted how much events would provide material for the show, which debuted in January as part of the Viacom-owned network's vast digital library.

Parker -- Canadian from Halifax -- plays host Jamsheed Al-Jamsheedi, who tackles issues including the episode "Kushner" (which is all about how Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is "indeed qualified to take an active role in Middle East peace talks") oil ("the black pus of the planet") and most recently: immigration ("immigrating to the United States is overrated").

SEE ALSO: 'The Daily Show' made a perfect Donald Trump-themed Yule Log featuring a burning Constitution

We caught up with Parker to talk about his new series and its relevance to current events.

Mashable: You first did Mideast Minutein 2007 as a web series. Why bring it back? Where'd the idea for the series first come from?

Parker: The original idea was to do a fake news show that tried to convince Middle Easterners that everything was OK in the Middle East. That was back in 2007, during the height of the war, when both the US government and certain media outlets were very conspicuously misreporting what the US was doing in the Middle East. It just seemed like something I needed and wanted to make fun of. Not our actions in the region so much as the way we were spinning them. That's what was absurd to me.

This show seems very timely ... why is it important for there to be this type of satirical content out there given Trump's recent Muslim ban?

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Parker: Satire feels like a flashlight, I think. Helps us see the absurdity around us. And I've always turned to comedy to help explore serious or painful subject matter. Even going back as far as the first short film I wrote and directed, Afghan, which dealt with a real-life thing that happened during the racially charged period in the days after 9/11. That's just what I go to. I process things through comedy. And for whatever reason, when people see it presented that way, in a comedic context, it makes it easier for them to engage in the conversation.

Why is comedy so important? Do you think your series -- and other comedic ones like it -- can help shape people's opinions on the Middle East?

Actor Pardis Parker perform on stage at The Laugh Factory on October 22, 2013 in West Hollywood, California. Credit: Getty Images for The Hollywood W

Parker: The funny thing is, the show's not really about the Middle East. At all. It's a show, more than anything, about the way we spin the truth, and try to convince people we're acting in their best interests, even when it's obvious we're not. It's just a show about lying. It's a show about how ridiculous some of our lies are. I think that's funny. I think it's funny when someone's sweating bullets and trying to convince you of something and thinking they're actually succeeding, even when it's obvious to everyone watching that they aren't. And it's doubly funny when it's our government or the people representing us.What other issues do you want to tackle with the show going forward?

Parker: I mean, there was a long list before the election, but now it feels like I need to throw that out and start with a fresh one. Every day. Because there won't be a shortage of issues to tackle, I know that much. Especially being from a family that escaped religious persecution, and that moved to Canada for a better life. It gives me a different perspective, I think, and I imagine that'll seep through in future episodes.What kind of feedback have you gotten? It must be a mix of hate (it's the Internet, after all) and love (from Comedy Central viewers)? Any unexpected reactions?

Parker: It's been really positive. I mean, we're living in a time when basic facts are being questioned, and people more and more need reassurance that they're not going crazy. That there's other people, like them, who understand that things are off by a few degrees. So it's finding an audience. And even though these first few episodes are just first pancakes, with loads of room for improvement, it feels like the premise is resonating enough that I'm getting some rope to find my rhythm. And I'm grateful for that.What's the benefit of having Comedy Central as the platform for the series?

Parker: They're the kings of comedy. I could neither ask for nor imagine better partners. From development to production to programming to marketing to legal, the whole team, top to bottom, has been super talented and supportive. I'm lucky.

Anything else you'd like to add?

Endlessly impressed that Jamsheed Al-Jamsheedi of @ComedyCentral's MIDEAST MINUTE is ambrowdextrous pic.twitter.com/RWMqCWmU4f

— Josh L. Dickey (@JLDlite) January 28, 2017

Parker: I'm grateful, man. I'm grateful to live and work in a country where people are eager to stand up for the rights and privileges of others, to give a voice to the voiceless, to defend the weak from the bullies. What's better than that?

Mideast Minutepremiered in January on Comedy Central’s Snapchat Discover channel. Episodes are available on Snapchat on Thursdays, on Comedy Central’s website on Fridays and on Comedy Central’s YouTube channel on Saturdays.

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