主播大秀

With Muzlamic, the new 主播大秀 Three's brand new pilot sketch show, on 主播大秀 iPlayer today, we spoke to co-creator Ali Shahalom about how he and Aatif Nawaz got started.

How did you come up with the idea for Muzlamic?

Aatif and I met through stand-up 4 years ago and have since become really good friends. Our interests and comedic styles were similar, so we’d have great conversations about everything and anything.  We had a creative itch- “hey bro we should write something for TV” would frequently pop up in discussion. But it wasn’t until the start of 2018 that we decided to take that creative impulse and do something with it.

Creative people can often be guilty of romanticising a great idea but doing nothing with it. Once our intentions were aligned we spent the time writing something we would be proud of and could pitch with.

We met up regularly with laptops and notepads, bouncing ideas and concepts around. We knew it would be super cool to write a sketch show through the eyes of two British Asian Muslims, exploring what this identity means in 2019. As we started writing we realised within some sketches our ethnicity and religion were crucial parts of the comedy, but purely incidental in others. We had jokes about being stopped in an airport alongside gags about pineapple on pizza. We established a really nice framework, which allowed us to write freely about our dual identities.

After a lot of hang outs (and a lot of caffeine) over 6 months, we had the first draft of Muzlamic. It felt really good. We knew wanted to get it on TV… but how?

What happened next?

I didn’t have an acting agent, I didn’t have industry links, and I didn’t have TV connections. But I had Google.

I researched how others have got something from page to screen. Most of the search results highlighted the importance of needing an acting agent. So I googled acting agencies in London, read the blurbs about individual agents, and contacted the ones I thought could represent me. I must’ve sent about 40 emails to different agents. 9 out of 10 of them didn’t respond, and the ones that did said they weren’t looking to represent people at that time.

Initially that rejection stung a little. But I hadn’t been to drama school, I didn’t have proper TV credits and I didn’t have industry references. Objectively speaking, it didn’t make sense for an agent to take me on board. I get it. However I had written, acted and filmed in countless online skits that had stacked over 100M views, and I had an audience of over 600,000 followers that were watching my content.

I knew that I could authentically represent a unique and often misrepresented demographic and had the skills to build bridges between different audiences. This was enough to ensure I wasn’t going to give up. But I knew I’d need to go deeper into my research and learn more about the different parts of the industry

What research did you do?

I read endless articles, listened to podcasts and watched hours of YouTube interviews. Every broadcaster‘s website has information on their Commissioners and Executives, often listed by name – sometimes even with contact details. The 主播大秀 Writers Room and 主播大秀 Academy had invaluable information on what Commissioners are actually looking for and how new writers can get their foot in the door. I also looked into various production companies and familiarised myself with who the key contacts were by searching their company on LinkedIn.

Once I knew who the key players and top decision makers were, I tried to set up as many meetings as I could, making sure I was ready to talk about our script and ideas. I knew rejection would be part of the process, so I prepared myself for it.

Some people didn’t want the script, some people didn’t reply. I went in assuming the base position would be no, which humbled me and became a starting point rather than the end of the road. But then Chris Sussman, former Head of Comedy at 主播大秀 Studios, called us in for a meeting. I knew from Chris’s IMDB page that he’d been involved with some amazing TV shows – and that this could be our big opportunity.

How did you prepare for your meeting with 主播大秀 Studios?

We made sure we went in prepared.

We didn’t want to just have a general chat, we had a good script and we wanted to make it into a TV show. Before the meeting, I listened to a long podcast which had Chris Sussman on as a guest, making notes on the nuances of what he was saying and what 主播大秀 Studios were looking for. I took my laptop with me to 主播大秀 Studios with the script and treatment ready. When we met Chris, he was so gracious and responsive. He loved the idea of Muzlamic and wanted to make it work. We had that meeting in October 2018 and then got a pilot commissioned around November 2018, which I understand is an unusually fast turnaround.

That feeling was amazing. It felt like we had created something out of nothing. Of course, getting a commission doesn’t mean you’re on TV the next day. There are script rewrites, meetings, castings, gathering a team, location hunting, contracts... there was a lot to do. After the commission news it then took another 7 months to put it all together and get it on screen.

What are your aims for the show?

I hope Muzlamic can make people laugh and make people think. At a time where it can feel like the world is so divided, I hope our show can in some small way unite different people together through humour.

Right now, the show is a pilot but I would love for it to become a full-blown series. Aatif and I have got so many more ideas in our heads and laptops. But I’m quickly realising that you have to be very patient in TV!

I’m used to filming something and putting it on my social media within the hour – but in TV world, everything has to be discussed and refined. We’ve had to have patience, but I’m willing to play the game. We’re just hoping that people will like it and that we will get the chance to bring more of our characters to life.

Muzlamic is a comedy pilot for 主播大秀 Three, created by Ali Shahalom and Aatif Nawaz. The show is available to watch now on 主播大秀 iPlayer.