Sacha Baron Cohen teases new show aimed at Trump, US politics
Sacha Baron Cohen has shared teasers for a new show on his social media channels, and it looks to be aimed directly at US president Donald Trump - or, at least, his politics.
In two short videos posted to his Twitter and Instagram accounts, Baron Cohen has given his followers a glimpse at what might be his most daring work yet, with all evidence pointing to a documentary-style program the English comedian suggests he has been working on for a year.
With the videos giving away only a few clues, it seems the show will feature Baron Cohen's signature comedic flair and, potentially, disguises that allow him to operate undercover while filming.
In one clip from the videos released, a disguised voice likely belonging to Baron Cohen asks former US vice-president Dick Cheney if he'll sign a "waterboard kit".
Cheney's support of waterboarding as an interrogation technique is notorious, and he signs the kit presented to him happily - no word, though, if he knew who was behind the request.
Another video shows old footage of Donald Trump criticising Baron Cohen and saying he wished the comedian had been punched enough to land him in hospital. "Sacha Baron Cohen, go to school," Trump rants. "Learn about being funny."
As Trump speaks, text and images appear on screen in the video. "He's back," the text says. "As you've never seen him before. Sacha graduates."
The screen then flashes to the Trump University logo, referring to Trump's now-defunct for-profit education company.
On July 5, Variety broke the news that Baron Cohen was busy working with Showtime on a new show, though details remained scarce.
In the following days, Showtime released a mysterious trailer announcing a new show arriving on July 15. Since then, posters have appeared around the States announcing the show, called Who Is America? , will go to air on Sunday evenings.
With the program on Showtime in the US, chances are the network's Australian partner, Stan, will receive the rights to air it here, though there's been no news as yet and Stan has declined to comment.