Raised by Refugees TV Series

Raised by Refugees is an autobiographical comedy series written and created by comedian Pax Assadi. Based intimately on Assadi’s upbringing as a teenager and the sacrifices made by his Iranian father and Pakistani mother to resettle in Aotearoa, the series was inspired by Assadi’s love of Everybody Hates Chris, a 2005 sitcom centred on American comedian Chris Rock’s teenage years. Similarly, Raised by Refugees features a younger version of Assadi (played by Kenus Binu at ages 12 and 15) alongside an ensemble cast as his family members and friends. In addition to leading the production as showrunner, Assadi plays the role of his own father, Afnan.

Following Assadi’s stand-up show of the same name, which he toured on the Comedy Festival circuit in Aotearoa and Australia in 2019, Assadi and his manager pitched the idea for a Raised by Refugees sitcom to production company Kevin & Co. A pilot script was written and presented to broadcaster Sky, with NZ On Air funding to produce six 22-minute episodes secured in 2020. A second six-episode season was funded in 2022. On developing the series, Asssadi has spoken regularly about his passion for the project, through which he gained “a deep appreciation for what my parents did for me, what they went through to make sure that I had a stable life, and that I could make something of myself.” Around his public profile as a comedian, he also emphasised, “this show is not scared of getting serious. It is a comedy show, but I delve into some painful moments in my parents’ life.”

Raised by Refugees uses “creative non-fiction” to adapt events from Assadi’s time in intermediate and high school, and his parents’ lives before and after their move to Aotearoa in 1987. Set in the North Shore suburbs of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, the first season takes place just after the World Trade Center attacks in 2001, with each episode touching on the impact of 9/11 on the family’s everyday life and wellbeing. Real situations from Assadi’s adolescence are portrayed, including witnessing his father being called a terrorist by a customer at an appliance store, and pretending to be Tongan to hide his ethnicity from his classmates — an anecdote that Assadi had previously incorporated into his comedy routines to acclaim.

Racism, faith and acceptance are central themes around which the series explores the immigrant experience and Assadi’s pride as “the son of refugees.” Significant to the second season are two narratives: Pax’s decision to commit to the Baháʼí faith at the age of 15, which is complicated by his shifting identity as a teenager; and his parents’ backstory, which reveals through flashbacks why his father fled Iran for Pakistan, and how his father and mother met before applying for asylum in New Zealand. With the disapproval of Pax’s romance with a Muslim classmate causing tension within the family, the season culminates with Afnan telling Pax the truth about his persecution as a Baháʼí by the Muslim majority in Iran.

The series also focuses light-heartedly on Assadi’s friendships, the expectations of his overprotective parents, and his budding interest in stand-up comedy, with moments that illuminate his comedic reputation for the “deft use of humour as a way to nudge into uncomfortable topics.” On being the “class clown” in high school, Assadi recalled “, I was quite young when I started to work out that you could, for lack of a better term, ‘weaponise’ comedy. I learnt I could use it as a tool, not only to gain social capital, but also to mitigate the chances of being a target for racism and stereotypes.”

Seasons one and two screened on Prime TV and were released simultaneously on streaming services Sky Go and Neon in 2022 and 2023 respectively. Writing for The Spinoff, Abbas Nazari called the series “an authentic and humorous take on the refugee and immigrant experience, a hectic blend of personal stories and insightful observations that will have you laughing along every step of the way” while also highlighting the meticulous attention to detail, “from the dates and naan bread on the breakfast table, to the traditional music that plays in the background, to the often-tense dynamics of an interracial marriage.” On the performances, Laumata Lauano for RNZ observed, “it’s in the on-screen sons, Pax and Mahan, played by Binu and [Adam] Lobo, that we see a bit of magic. Assadi and Binu have good chemistry as father and son, and while the cultural divide between the two can be comedic gold, at the drop of a hat, their relationship becomes heartfelt and touching.”

On the making of Raised by Refugees, actor Kalyani Nagarajan, who plays Assadi’s mother Safia, praised the writing and casting “because South Asian stories — especially on screen — don’t get told,” adding that “what’s gorgeous about watching this particular show, or being part of this particular show, is the pride — the pride for culture and the pride for really representing and being who you are. And so to see Pax really just put himself out there and to support emerging Indian, Pakistani and Iranian actors and support a young crew coming in, it’s such a magnificent production to be a part of.”