If you were a fan of the HBO series ‘Succession’ — and desperately miss it like Mehdi does — then do we have a treat for you. On this new episode of ‘We’re Not Kidding’, Mehdi is joined by Iranian-American actor Arian Moayed who played the scene-stealing character Stewy Hosseini on the hit HBO show. “Why do you think ‘Succession’ was such a big show? Why did it have such a cultural impact?” Mehdi asks. “Because the truth of ‘Succession’ dials into what we’re witnessing every day in our news cycles. There’s an elite group of 10 to 15 people that run everything,” Arian says.
Mehdi and Arian unpack the ways our reality mirrors the fictional world of ‘Succession’, like how pro-Israel billionaire Larry Ellison, the world’s second richest man, is buying up media companies Paramount, CBS News, and TikTok. Mehdi also challenges Arian to a new rapid-fire question game called, “Real Billionaire or ‘Succession’ Character?” The results were hilarious yet… somewhat terrifying.
As two naturalized US citizens, Mehdi and Arian discuss the recent military-style ICE raids in Arian’s hometown of Chicago and the fears that many immigrant communities are feeling in the Trump era. They also get into the recent political history of Iran, and Arian explains the importance of Iranian representation and self-determination, and offers his own analogy for why Western governments should stay out of Iran’s affairs. “For anyone to say, ‘This is how Iranians should be and do — that’s insanity,” Arian says. “I don’t want to tell you how to live in Kansas City. Like, I’m not going to tell Kansas City what barbecue is about.”
Finally, the two discuss the two-year anniversary of Oct. 7 and the ongoing genocide in Gaza. As Arian was one of the earliest signatories on the Artists 4 Ceasefire letter in October of 2023, Mehdi asks if he feared retribution from Hollywood and the entertainment industry for being pro-Palestine. “I have those thoughts. I have those fears,” Arian says. “I will also say during that time I’d be on set and people would whisper to me, ‘I’m on your side.’”
It’s a fascinating, funny, heartfelt conversation. And like many of Stewy’s appearances on ‘Succession’ — filled with a healthy amount of F-bombs.
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