The former SNL star plays a 14-year-old Persian boy in the painfully funny TBS comedy Chad.

By Kristen Baldwin – March 16, 2021 at 09:00 AM EDT – for EW.com

My cmnt: Season 1 of “Chad” was funny and really unique. I was so looking forward to Season 2 when TBS abruptly canceled the show claiming that with their merger with Discovery they would no longer be developing scripted content. Since the whole season was already filmed and paid for I find that excuse hard to believe. My suspicion is that Chad causes difficulties to the entire LGBTQwerty movement with a 40-something actual woman, who in real life looks and sounds like a 40 yr old woman, playing the part of a young, teenage boy and making no real attempt to make her really even look like a boy – as a point of fact part of the fun of the show is everyone in the show acts like Chad is just a normal boy when just looking at him and listening to him no one in the real world would ever mistake him for an actual, male boy.

The series follows a Persian teenage boy during high school as he desperately tries to fit in, cope with his mother’s dating life and reconcile his cultural identity.

My cmnt: Chk out this hilarious interview below that gives you a real flavor of Chad. Here Nasim Pedrad, in her character Chad, interviews herself the real Nasim Pedrad.

My cmnt: Watch the teaser below for another good taste of the show.

My cmnt: In the video below Chad was trying, in his usual stupid way, to make his locker look like the cheerleaders had punked him (an actual honor) but when he got there in the morning everyone thinks that Chad’s locker has been hate-crime’d and so they now start being extra nice to him and naturally Chad eats it up and loves the attention.

The new TBS series Chad stars Nasim Pedrad, a 39-year-old woman, as Ferydoon “Chad” Amani, a 14-year-old boy. Oddly enough, that’s not the most interesting thing about the show. Blending extreme cringe comedy with relatable tales of teenage despair, Chad (April 6 at 10:30 p.m. on TBS) explores the painful limbo between childhood and adolescence through the eyes of a late-blooming Persian narcissist.

It’s the first day of high school, and Chad is determined to be popular. For him, that means downplaying, if not completely ignoring, his Persian heritage. “I’m embarrassed by it, and I want to fit in,” he informs his single mom Naz (Saba Homayoon). With his loyal and level-headed best friend Peter (Eighth Grade‘s Jake Ryan) by his side, Chad struts into Westpark High — only to be met with almost instant humiliation. Viewers with a low tolerance for secondhand embarrassment may not make it past the eight-minute mark in the premiere, when Chad begins his excruciating attempt to ingratiate himself with some classmates by boasting about his sexual exploits. Like most of his lies, this one leads to disaster and an emotional meltdown. “I just want to play video games with Peter,” Chad wails to his mom between sobs.

Each of Chad‘s eight episodes is built around a similar juxtaposition of acute pathos and unbearable awkwardness. Chad is so desperate for a father figure — his absentee dad lives in Iran — that he becomes inordinately attached to Naz’s cool new boyfriend Ikrimah (Phillip Mullings Jr.). He orders baseball gloves online so he and Ikrimah can “have a catch,” and it’s a little heartbreaking. But when he crashes movie night at Ikrimah’s house and tries to bond with his buddies, all of whom are Black, by blurting out things like, “I hate white privilege!”—well, it’s full-body wince time.

Alexa Loo, Nasim Pedrad, and Jake Ryan in ‘Chad’

| CREDIT: LIANE HENTSCHER/TBS

It helps that Pedrad, who also created the show, surrounds her blundering protagonist with likable, well-adjusted peers. Peter is preternaturally wise and quietly confident, so uninterested in being popular that the cool kids — like Chad’s idol Reid (The Mick‘s Thomas Barbusca) — are happy to hang with him. Reid is a charismatic and occasionally obnoxious big man on campus, but he pushes back on Chad’s aggressive overtures with gentle therapyspeak (“I need to set a healthy boundary”) rather than bullying. The series’ sweetest moments come courtesy of Chad’s very loving, very Persian Uncle Hamid (the wonderfully ebullient Paul Chahidi), whose intense devotion to his nephew never wavers.

Camouflaged beneath a choppy wig and oversize polo shirts, her voice pitched a half-octave lower than normal, Pedrad captures the many contradictions of early adolescence. Chad moves stiffly through the world, swinging from bouts of loud hyperactivity to a muttery, almost physical self-effacement. The actress is so natural in the role that it’s not long before the device is overshadowed by the character, a kid coming to terms with his identity. In a perfectly executed bit of irony, Chad’s efforts to fit in culminate in a finale prank that draws the whole school’s attention to his ethnicity.

Chad is undoubtedly weird, and decidedly less heartfelt than that other adults-playing-teens comedy, PEN15. It seems a bit out of place in TBS’ current line-up of hidden-camera high jinks, variety shows, and Friends reruns. But conformity is overrated — even if Chad himself doesn’t know it yet. Grade: B+

Chad premieres April 6 at 10:30 p.m. on TBS.

Meet Chad‘s ‘debilitating crush’ on season 2 of the Nasim Pedrad comedy

Series creator and star Nasim Pedrad previews Mona in this first look at the TBS comedy’s sophomore season.

By Gerrad HallMay 11, 2022 at 02:00 PM EDT – for EW.com

Sun’s out, fun’s out! EW’s 2022 Summer Preview has dozens of exclusive looks at the most anticipated TV shows, movies, books, and music of entertainment’s hottest season. Continue to visit ew.com throughout the week for more previews of what you’ll be watching, reading, and listening to in the months to come.

School is back in session for Chad, and this season the show’s namesake has a big ol’ crush: Mona (Sara Malal Rowe), as seen in EW’s exclusive, first-look images below. But it’s not all love at first sight.

“No one is more surprised by Chad and Mona’s charming dynamic, let alone his debilitating crush on her, than Chad himself. Mona is cool, confident and totally at peace with being the Persian foreign kid — so, the complete opposite of Chad,” reveals series creator Nasim Pedrad, who also stars as Chad. “He’s fascinated by this and genuinely thrown by how much he enjoys her company, while Mona is taken by how peculiar and specific he is. She, like the rest of America, has never met anyone like him before. Chad’s feelings for Mona grow from annoyance to full blown captivation over the course of the season — and for the first time, we see him pouring his energy into something outside of himself.”

Which will certainly be a change from his selfish behavior in season 1 — desperate to mask his Persian heritage so he can fit in and be one of the cool, popular kids. This season, though, maturity seems to be catching up with Chad, who has a new approach to life and starts to come to terms, Pedrad says, with his Persian American identity.

“We start the season with him very much in the same place we left him in season 1 — struggling to embrace his cultural heritage and desperate to fit in with his classmates at all costs,” she explains. “Through a series of trials and unexpected challenges — including his first job, his first bully, and his first real crush — Chad ultimately learns to accept himself for who he is, even if it means not everyone will like him.”

Sara Malal Rowe and Nasim Pedrad on ‘Chad’ season 2

| CREDIT: JAMES CLARK/TBS

Nasim Pedrad and Sara Malal Rowe on ‘Chad’ season 2

| CREDIT: PATRICK WYMORE/TBS

But don’t think there won’t be more Chad-rific antics, as evidenced by the below image also featuring Chad’s bff, Peter (Jake Ryan). He’s back, along with Reid (Thomas Barbusca), Denise (Alexa Loo), Chad’s mom Naz (Saba Homayoon), sister Niki (Ella Mika), and Uncle Hamid (Paul Chahidi).

Nasim Pedrad and Jake Ryan on ‘Chad’ season 2

| CREDIT: SCOTT EVERETT WHITE/TBS

Season 2 of Chad premieres July 11 on TBS.

‘Chad’ Season 2 Will Not Air on TBS, Despite Already Being Shot

By Selome Hailu – July 11, 2022 – for variety.com

Nasim Pedrad’s “Chad” was pulled from TBS’ programming hours before Season 2 of the comedy series was set to air on July 11, a spokesperson for the network confirmed to Variety.

According to the spokesperson, TBS is now looking for “the right home” for the series. As the news comes the day the premiere was scheduled, and a trailer has already been released, it’s clear that at least a significant portion, if not the entire season, has been shot and produced.

The pulling of “Chad” signals the continued demise of scripted content at TBS and TNT. As Variety reported exclusively in April, the Warner-owned cablers halted development of all new scripted projects as a result of the Warner Bros. Discovery merger, leaving already-popular series like “Snowpiercer” hanging in the balance. WBD is overturning strategy for the so-called “TNets,” including truTV, in CEO David Zaslav’s efforts to cut $3 billion in costs, and the networks have also taken hits outside of the scripted arena. General manager Brett Weitz was ousted in May, while the SAG Awards ended their relationship with the networks after 25 years and, most recently, dating series “The Big D” was pulled weeks before its premiere.

“As we continue to assess content and implement a new strategy for our network, we can now share that Season 2 of ‘Chad’ will not air on TBS,” the statement reads. “We are proactively exploring various options to find the right home for it. We celebrate and thank Nasim Pedrad, the passionate creator, executive producer and star of the series, for sharing a bold, unexpected coming of age story with heart and humor. We also thank executive producer Oly Obst, co-showrunner Max Searle and the entire cast and crew of ‘Chad’ for their ongoing partnership and wish everyone continued success.”

“Chad” follows an Iranian-American teenage boy (played by Pedrad, a 40-year-old woman) through high school. Jake Ryan, Paul Chahidi, Saba Homayoon, Ella Mika, Alexa Loo, Thomas Barbusca and Sara Malal Rowe also star. Along with Pedrad, Obst and Searle, Rob Rossell serves as executive producer and co-developed the series.

Nasim Pedrad’s ‘Chad’ Picked Up By Roku After Cancellation at TBS

By Selome Hailu – Oct 26, 2022 – for variety.com

Earlier this year, Nasim Pedrad’s “Chad” was canceled by TBS just hours before the already completed second season was set to air. Now, the series has been picked up by the Roku Channel, with a release date for Season 2 yet to be announced.

“Chad” follows an Iranian-American teenage boy (played by series creator Pedrad, a 40-year-old woman) through high school. Jake Ryan, Paul Chahidi, Saba Homayoon, Ella Mika, Alexa Loo, Thomas Barbusca and Sara Malal Rowe also star. Along with Pedrad, Obst and Searle, Rob Rossell serves as executive producer and co-developed the series.

Along with airing Season 2 exclusively, Roku has picked up non-exclusive rights to stream Season 1.

“On behalf of myself and the incredible team that put such hard work and passion into creating ‘Chad,’ I’m thrilled to share that the second season of this story will be told on its new home, the Roku Channel,’ Pedrad said in a statement. “So much of my heart is infused in this show. While I feel conflicted celebrating anything right now as the people of my homeland are in the midst of a revolution against an oppressive regime, I’m grateful to have a platform where I can talk about it. I’m grateful to be part of a diaspora of Iranians, all from various sectors, utilizing their reach and resources to help amplify the voices of the Iranian people. And I’m especially grateful to be promoting a show that portrays an Iranian American family from a place of humor, humanity, and empathy — something I had longed for growing up.”

“The unwavering support and enthusiasm of the Roku Originals team has been incredible,” Pedrad continued. “I really look forward to working with them and I can’t wait to finally share this season with our loyal fans.”

Added Colin Davis, head of scripted originals at Roku: “The Roku Channel is committed to championing creativity and fostering great storytelling. ‘Chad’ is a story years-in-the-making that deserved to be told. We’re thrilled to be partnering closely with Nasim and her team to bring the next chapter of this exceptional series both to existing fans, as well as sharing it for the first time with new audiences, on the Roku Channel.”

My cmnt: Not withstanding the article above I’ve not been able to find Season 2 of “Chad” on the Roku channel nor anywhere else.