{{short description|Lebanese political satire program}} {{Infobox television | image = | caption = | alt_name = | genre = Political satire, Comedy | creator = Charbel Khalil | developer = | writer = | director = | creative_director = | presenter = | starring = | judges = | voices = | narrator = | theme_music_composer = | open_theme = | end_theme = | composer = | country = | language = Arabic | num_seasons = | num_episodes = | list_episodes = | executive_producer = | producer = | editor = | location = Lebanon | cinematography = | camera = | runtime = | company = | channel = Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation | first_aired = {{Start date|1995}} | last_aired = present | related = }} '''''Basmat Watan''''' ({{langx|ar|بس مات وطن}}) is a political-satire and slapstick Lebanese television program that is aired by the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation, a privately owned television station in Lebanon. The show was created by Charbel Khalil, with the first episode airing in 1995. The title of the program is a pun, as in Lebanese Arabic the title can either refer to either the "death" or "smiles" of a nation.<ref name="Lebanon Wire">{{cite news | url=http://www.lebanonwire.com/0704MLN/07041008AF.asp | title=Lebanon smiles at death of a nation | accessdate=10 February 2011| author=Yassine, Salim | date=10 April 2007| publisher=Lebanon Wire}} {{dead link|date=November 2025}}</ref> ''Basmat Watan'' is the longest-running political satire program in Lebanon.<ref name="New York Times">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/07/world/middleeast/07khalil.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=world | title=A Lebanese Political Satirist With Hezbollah Among His Targets | accessdate=10 February 2011| author=Worth, Robert F. | date=6 February 2006 | work=The New York Times}}</ref>
== Origins == In 1995, ''Basmat Watan'' started by lampooning Lebanese political figures, including the then Prime Minister of Lebanon Rafic Hariri.<ref name="New York Times" />
== Politics == Khalil, who is also the producer of the show, says the show does not favor any political party in Lebanon and that "the key is to take on absolutely everyone". One sketch on the show depicted a journalist with a swollen face after an interview with the allegedly quick-tempered Michel Aoun, leader of the Free Patriotic Movement.<ref name="Lebanon Wire" /> In an interview with ''The New York Times'', Khalil responded to suggestions that he targeted the Hezbollah ruling party more, saying "I criticize them more because they are the majority in Parliament", adding "if they lose, I will criticize the other side more."<ref name="New York Times" />
== References == {{reflist}}
Category:Lebanese comedy Category:Lebanese political satire Category:1995 Lebanese television series debuts Category:1990s Lebanese television series Category:2000s Lebanese television series Category:2010s Lebanese television series Category:2020s Lebanese television series Category:Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International original programming
{{Asia-tv-prog-stub}} {{Lebanon-tv-stub}}