Popular U.K. TikTok content creator Shabaz Ali will lead a special for BBC Three and iPlayer, Shabaz Asks: Are Billionaires Bad?, marking his TV debut.
“Shabaz has built a strong connection with young audiences by combining his sharp humour with genuine cultural insight,” said Kalpna Patel-Knight, head of entertainment commissioning at the BBC. “We are excited to be working with him on his television debut and see him explore such a relevant debate. Shabaz Asks: Are Billionaires Bad? promises to be bold and conversation-starting and reflects the BBC’s commitment to distinctive, homegrown storytelling.”
Ali will embark on a quest to meet a real billionaire in the one-hour special from Brighton-based Hello Mary. He is best known as ShabazSays, reaching 4-million-plus followers with comedy content about wealth inequality, celebrity, and culture. Production on the special is underway for broadcast later this year.
“I’ve always looked at my social media content as only one way to approach important subjects,” Ali said. “I’m interested in digging deeper into the issues of inequality, community, and our comparative culture, and a film offers the most exciting opportunity yet to ask questions about our culture: whether it is broken, or whether we just need to update our perspective. There is no format quite like television in which to do that. I am super nervous, but I’m super excited to be working with the BBC to make a film that will explore the burning question ‘are billionaires bad?’ It’s going to be interesting to leave all the filming, editing, and producing to someone else (since it’s always been just me doing it all for my online videos), but TV is something I have always wanted to do, and this is going to be very fun!”
Steven Regan, EP for Hello Mary, added, “Like millions of others, we’re massive fans of Shabaz and are delighted to show his legions of followers a new side to him, as well as introduce him to viewers who have somehow not discovered him yet. We love working with big characters at Hello Mary, and Shabaz is no exception: he’s clever, funny and provocative.”
