Sacha Baron Cohen is back with an explosive new show

Prankster extraordinaire Sacha Baron Cohen is back with a new show Who Is America?, which promises to feature guest appearances from Sarah Palin, Dick Cheney and Roy Moore – and they’re not happy about it

Article by Jamie Dunn | 13 Jul 2018

Given how famous Sacha Baron Cohen has become thanks to the success of characters like Ali G, Borat and Brüno, we thought the days of him interviewing unsuspecting guests to expose their stupidity and bigotries in front of a camera crew were behind him. Not so. The comedian returns this weekend with a new seven-part TV show called Who Is America?, which reportedly features a string of high-profile people from the world of politics making fools of themselves.

It’s believed that Who Is America? will feature Cohen as a brand new character or set of characters, but exactly who they’ll be is yet to filter through in the tight-lipped promotion of the show. Thanks to the public complaints made by some of the people who have been duped into being interviewed by Cohen, we know some of the guests who’ll appear on the series, including Sarah Palin, Roy Moore and Joe Walsh.

Palin, the former Governor of Alaska and the Republican Party nominee for Vice President of the United States in the 2008 election, shared her experience of being tricked by Cohen, and she didn’t mince her words, calling him “evil, exploitive, sick” – surely music to Cohen’s ears.

Writing on her Facebook page, Palin claims that when she spoke to Cohen, he was posing as a disabled US war veteran:

“For my interview, my daughter and I were asked to travel across the country where Cohen (I presume) had heavily disguised himself as a disabled US Veteran, fake wheelchair and all,” writes Palin. “Out of respect for what I was led to believe would be a thoughtful discussion with someone who had served in uniform, I sat through a long ‘interview’ full of Hollywoodism’s disrespect and sarcasm - but finally had enough and literally, physically removed my mic and walked out, much to Cohen’s chagrin. The disrespect of our US military and middle-class Americans via Cohen’s foreign commentaries under the guise of interview questions was perverse.”

Another guest who’s been revealed is former Vice President Dick Cheney. The first clip from Who Is America? shows George W. Bush’s former right-hand man being given a waterboard kit (ie, plastic water bottle) to sign – Cheney was famously fond of enhanced interrogation methods during the “war on terror” – which he happily takes from Cohen’s character and adds his signature. “That’s a first,” Chaney says cheerfully. “That’s the first time I’ve ever had to sign a waterboard.”

Who Is America? is due to air on US channel Showtime this Sunday, with its UK premiere on Channel 4 the following night. "Sacha is a comedic genius who shocks you with his audacity, bravery and inventiveness," Showtime president David Nevins told the BBC. "He is the premier provocateur of our time.

"Nobody knows how to cause a stir like Sacha Baron Cohen, and it's going to be fascinating to watch what happens when Who is America? is released on the world."

British audiences can see the first episode on Monday 16 July on Channel 4. More info here www.channel4.com/programmes/who-is-america