— Sacha Baron Cohen (@SachaBaronCohen) July 8, 2018
Not too long after posters for what appears to be Sacha Baron Cohen’s new Showtime series, Who Is America? began appearing in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood, the comedian and actor dropped yet another teaser on Twitter. “Imagine if Sacha Baron Cohen had been undercover secretly filming a new show for a year,” the short video asks in all caps before launching into a brief montage of the Englishman’s various disguises. It then launches into a shot of former Vice President Dick Cheney signing, at Cohen’s off-camera character’s request, a “waterboarding kit.”
The montage, which includes everything from hats to fake facial hair, concludes by zooming in on a photo of President Barack Obama made to look like the late Osama bin Laden. From there, Cohen’s tell-tale voice — disguised in an accented manner not unlike his The Dictator character — asks Cheney, “Is it possible to sign my waterboarding kit?” Cheney says “sure,” then the teaser cuts to footage of the man himself signing what looks like an empty gallon milk jug covered in other signatures. “That’s a first,” says Cheney. “That’s the first time I’ve ever signed a waterboard.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9NpDD0P33c
Sunday’s teaser follows on the heels of the aforementioned posters, as well as an odd video edit of President Donald Trump decrying Cohen’s work that the comedian posted to Twitter on July 4th. Before that, Showtime began running advertisements online and for its subscribers promising something new, albeit with little to no details about what it was. All these teasers admitted was that the new program would premiere on Sunday, July 15th.
UPDATE – 1:30 EST:
On Monday, Showtime finally, officially acknowledged its relationship with Cohen by releasing a new teaser on YoutTube and an official synopsis for Who Is America? As the announcement explains, the new show is technically premiering very late on Saturday, July 14th, but subsequent episodes will air Sundays.
Today, SHOWTIME announced a brand new satirical half-hour series from comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Famous for creating a roster of iconic moments and incendiary characters, Baron Cohen returns to series television for the first time in more than a decade, writing and directing WHO IS AMERICA? In the works over the past year, the seven-episode series will explore the diverse individuals, from the infamous to the unknown across the political and cultural spectrum, who populate our unique nation. The first episode will debut on streaming, online and On Demand this Sunday, July 15 at midnight ET (9 p.m. PT July 14) and will premiere on air that same night at 10 p.m. ET/PT, with subsequent episodes airing on Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
In a statement, Showtime’s President and CEO, David Nevins exclaimed, “Sacha is a comedic genius who shocks you with his audacity, bravery and inventiveness. He is the premier provocateur of our time, but not for the sake of ‘gotcha’ moments. Behind the elaborate setup is a genuine quest for the truth about people, places and politics. Nobody knows how to cause a stir like Sacha Baron Cohen, and it’s going to be fascinating to watch what happens when WHO IS AMERICA? is released on the world.” So this should be fun.
