Sacha Baron Cohen Reveals Premiere Date for New Showtime Series

Sacha Baron Cohen's new show Who Is America? released a teaser on Monday to give viewers a [...]

By Connor Casey

Sacha Baron Cohen's new show Who Is America? released a teaser on Monday to give viewers a surprising piece of information — the show will premiere Sunday on Showtime

The teaser featured former Vice President Dick Cheney, who at the end of the ad looks at the camera and says "I hope you'll tune in next week for an interview with me."

Cohen, former host of Da Ali G show and star/writer/producer of Borat, Bruno and The Dictator, first teased the new show with a message directed at President Donald Trump on July 4.

Showtime pulled a similar stunt on June 29, posting a trailer that said "Something HUGE IS Coming to Showtime," but claimed a non-disclosure agreement kept them from giving any information.

On Sunday Cohen posted another teaser, with a text crawl reading "Imagine if Sacha Baron Cohen had been undercover secretly filming a new show for a year..." then featured Cheney signing Cohen's new character's waterboarding kit.

Showtime released more information on the show along with Monday's trailer.

"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 official synopsis read.

"Sacha is a comedic genius who shocks you with his audacity, bravery and inventiveness," Showtime president and CEO David Nevins told Entertainment Weekly. "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."

Little is known about the new character Cohen will portray other than that he is "shameless," "unhinged," and "cold-blooded," according to the network.

Variety reported the show will be similar to his Da Ali G Show that ran for six episodes on the United Kingdom's Channel 4 in 2000 and another 12 episodes in 2003 and 2004 on HBO. Cohen reportedly has been in negotiations with Showtime over distribution rights.

Vulture reported on Friday that Cohen reportedly conducted an interview with O.J. Simpson in early 2018 that could make its way onto the show.

The new show will air at 10 p.m. ET on Sunday night.

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