What we know about Sacha Baron Cohen's explosive new TV series, which has duped the likes of Sarah Palin and Dick Cheney
The seven-episode series has been more than a year in the making
On Monday, Cohen released a promotional clip on Twitter announcing the debut of a show that had been more than a year in the making.
"Imagine if Sacha Baron Cohen had been undercover secretly filming a new show for a year," read the text of the clip.
Showtime officially announced on Tuesday that the series, titled "Who Is America?," will have a seven episode first season.
Per a release, the show, written and directed by Cohen, "will explore the diverse individuals, from the infamous to the unknown across the political and cultural spectrum, who populate our unique nation."
It will feature new characters from Cohen
Showtime previewed "Who Is America?" in a clip this week that teased images of new character disguises from Cohen.
Cohen previously said that he would abandon the characters that originated from "Da Ali G Show," including Borat, Ali G, and Brüno — each of which received its own feature film in the years following the HBO show's final season.
We know that at least one of Cohen's characters for the new series will resemble a "disabled US Veteran," according to Sarah Palin's account of her interview for the show.
In a release, Showtime described the show's "lead character" as "shameless," "unhinged" and "cold-blooded."
Dick Cheney signs a "waterboard kit" in his interview for the show
In a teaser video Cohen released on Monday, an off-screen Cohen interviews former vice president Dick Cheney.
In the clip, Cohen asks Cheney to sign a "waterboard kit," which Cheney does with a smile and says, "That's the first time I ever signed a waterboard."
Another promotional clip released this week showed Cheney facing the camera and saying, "I hope you'll tune in next week for an interview with me."
Sarah Palin says she was "duped" into an interview, calls Cohen's humor "evil"
The former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin wrote a Facebook post on Tuesday confirming that she and her daughter had been "duped" into an interview for Cohen's series.
Palin wrote that Showtime and Cohen lured her into participating in what was supposed to be a "legit Showtime historical documentary" meant to "honor American vets." She said that Cohen disguised himself as a "disabled US veteran" in a wheelchair.
"I join a long list of American public personalities who have fallen victim to the evil, exploitive, sick 'humor' of the British 'comedian' Sacha Baron Cohen, enabled and sponsored by CBS/Showtime," Palin wrote.
"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," she continued. "The disrespect of our US military and middle-class Americans via Cohen's foreign commentaries under the guise of interview questions was perverse."
Cohen has apparently "finked" a long list of other political figures for the series, including Bernie Sanders
Matt Drudge, founder of conservative blog The Drudge Report, tweeted on Monday from his personal account that Cohen's show will feature interviews with political figures from both sides of the aisle, including Bernie Sanders.
"Sacha Baron Cohen at it again!," Drudge wrote in a now-deleted tweet. "This time for CBS/SHOWTIME. Lots of tricks played. Both Republicans and Democrats are getting caught up in the madness. Sacha has finked Cheney, Palin, Howard Dean, Alberto Gonzales, Bernie, Trent Lott, Patraeus, Ted Koppel, and more… BEWARE!"
So far, Palin is the only person on Drudge's list who has confirmed her appearance on the show, aside from Cheney, who appeared in promotional footage for the series.
On Wednesday, however, the former Congressman turned radio host Joe Walsh said in a series of tweets tagged "#BoycottShowtime," that he had also been "duped" by Cohen. Walsh said Cohen's team flew him to Washington D.C. for a fake pro-Israel event that honored him with an award for his "Significant Contributions to the State of Israel."
"I sat down and we started talking pro-Israel stuff, Israeli defense, and then out of left field the interviewer starts talking about how children should defend themselves against terrorist attacks. #BoycottShowtime," Walsh wrote.
The show will first premiere on-demand before airing Sundays at 10 p.m. on Showtime
"Who Is America?" will first premiere on Showtime On-Demand Saturday at midnight before airing Sunday at 10 p.m. ET on the cable network, according to Deadline.
The subsequent episodes will follow at 10 p.m. ET on Sundays.
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