Man Like Mobeen is a British comedy-drama television series created by Guz Khan and Andy Milligan that premiered on BBC Three on 17 December 2017. Set in the Small Heath area of Birmingham, the series stars Khan as Mobeen, a former drug dealer who now tries to live a good life as a Muslim while raising his younger sister Aqsa in the absence of their parents and spending time with his friends Nate and Eight.[1] By portraying the experience of second generation immigrants, the series is an innovative "transcultural comedy"[2] - comically fusing West Midlands, working-class traditions with Pakistani-Muslim culture.[3]
Cast
Main
Guz Khan as Mobeen Deen: A reformed former drug dealer raising his younger sister and trying to improve his community.
Tolu Ogunmefun as Nate: Mobeen's best friend and advocate.
Tez Ilyas (series 1–3) as Arslan "Eight" Mughal: Mobeen and Nate's close friend, part of the chosen family to Aqsa.
Dúaa Karim as Aqsa: Mobeen's younger sister, often exasperated with him but loves and looks up to him.
Recurring
Mark Silcox as Uncle Shady: a sadistic and outspoken figure in the local community, but close ally to Mobeen and co.
Perry Fitzpatrick as Officer Harper: a police officer who comes into frequent contact with Mobeen
Salman Akhtar (series 1 and 4) as Officer Sajid: a former classmate of Mobeen.
Asheq Akhtar (series 1 and 3) as Uncle Ahmed.
David Avery (series 2–3) as Cal: a childhood friend of Mobeen.
Art Malik (series 3–4) as Uncle Khan: a drug kingpin of Small Heath.
Specs Gonzalez (series 4) as Chippy: Officer Sajid’s cousin and an accomplice to Megalodon.
Al Roberts (series 4) as Memory Stick
Hussina Raja (series 4) as Nida
Production
While working as a humanities teacher in a secondary school in Coventry, Guz Khan began making YouTube videos in character as Mobeen, an opinionated care worker who is raising his sister Aqsa.[4] One video reacted to Fox News's suggestion that Birmingham was a no-go area for non-Muslims while another went viral after calling for a boycott of Jurassic World due to its use of the word "Pachy" to refer to the dinosaur, Pachycephalosaurus, a herbivore from the Cretaceous period found in current day Baluchistan, as it sounds like the racial slur for people of Pakistani descent, "Paki".[4]Steve Coogan's production company Baby Cow picked up on Khan's YouTube videos and made a pilot for BBC Three's new talent show, Comedy Feeds.[4] Khan has described the pilot as "very generic, super-sitcomy" and stated that he wanted to make "something more substantial" with Man Like Mobeen.[5] The four part first series, produced by Cave Bear and Tiger Aspect Productions, was announced by BBC Three controller Damian Kavanagh at the 2017 Edinburgh Festival and was released on iPlayer in December of the same year.[1]
The show was picked up for a second series of four episodes in September 2018.[6] During filming for the second series' first episode, which deals with knife crime, Khan and other members of the production called an ambulance after seeing a young boy attacked and threatened with a knife.[7] Khan has stated that while waiting for the ambulance he felt that "nothing was more real than the very subject we were filming and talking about".[7] In response to the success of the programme with younger audiences, the BBC announced in March 2019 that a third series of Man Like Mobeen had been commissioned,[8] which aired in 2020. In September 2020, a fourth series was confirmed,[9][10] which started airing in June 2023. In February 2024, a fifth series was announced.[11]
Scripts for Man Like Mobeen were written by Khan and Andy Milligan, creator of the comedy drama Undercover and script writer for TV presentersAnt & Dec.[1] Khan has stated that he wanted the show to portray "the funny yet complex realities of life for young working class men and women in Britain today",[4] alongside an authentic account of Birmingham, which he feels "gets almost no positive representation in the media".[1]
Episodes
Pilot (2016)
No. overall
Title
Original air date
1a
"Comedy Feeds: Man Like Mobeen Pilot"
6 October 2016 (2016-10-06)
The story of Mobeen Deen, a Muslim, English, 27 year old trying to leave behind a life of crime in Birmingham after finding his faith.
Eight paid a stranger £150 for what he was conned into believing was a laptop, which is actually a dead cat in a bag. Based on a description of a 'Brown male, in jogging bottoms' dealing drugs, Eight is arrested by armed police. The real culprit is Shahid, a Small Heath dealer who uses 14-year-old Kareema to move his gear. Kareema asks Mobeen's sister Aqsa to help her hide Shahid's drugs from the police and she agrees. When Mobeen finds out, he physically confronts Shahid.
2
2
"Wifey Riddim"
Ollie Parsons
Guz Khan and Andy Milligan
17 December 2017 (2017-12-17)
Mobeen's little sister Aqsa is suspended from school for fighting bullies. Believing that Aqsa would benefit from a female role model, Mobeen agrees to Uncle Habib's suggestion that he meet Khadijah and her father to discuss an arranged marriage. Things do not go to plan as Uncle Shady attends the meeting and ends up in a physical fight with Khadijah's father.
3
3
"Upper Room"
Ollie Parsons
Guz Khan and Andy Milligan
17 December 2017 (2017-12-17)
Mobeen and Nate visit Eight's grandfather, who is terminally ill. He confesses to a bigamous marriage to Jamila, an assistant at his video rental business, and asks Mobeen to take him to see her at his shop one last time. When the four men arrive, Eight's grandfather reveals that Jamila left ten years ago and he actually wanted to go to the shop to dispose of a stash of pornographicVHS tapes before he dies and his other wife, Nadia, finds them.
4
4
"H-ALTRight"
Ollie Parsons
Guz Khan and Andy Milligan
17 December 2017 (2017-12-17)
Mobeen takes the blame when Aqsa throws a flask at racist leader Robbie Worthington during a demonstration, and is arrested. He finds himself in the back of a police van with Worthington. The two argue and Worthington faints. After the pair are released, Aqsa again throws her flask at Worthington.
Series Two (2019)
No. overall
No. in series
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
5
1
"Prom Night"
Ollie Parsons
Guz Khan and Andy Milligan
6 February 2019 (2019-02-06)
Mobeen is worried about rumours of debauchery and the threat of a stabbing at Aqsa's prom night, so attends with her in a car borrowed by Eight from a local gangster, Azaar, without his permission. Azaar drives by, recognises his car and threatens Eight, but the police arrive to investigate rumours of knife crime and the gang disperse. Ridwan, a classmate of Aqsa's who has a crush on her, arrives with a katana and is lectured by his hero, Mobeen. While playing with the katana, Mobeen is tasered by police.
6
2
"Wrestling with the NHS"
Ollie Parsons
Guz Khan and Andy Milligan
6 February 2019 (2019-02-06)
Aqsa is injured during a game of WWE and is taken to hospital by Mobeen, Nate and Eight. While waiting for Aqsa to be treated, Mobeen meets an upper class man who complains about waiting times in the overstretched A&E and espouses racist views. Eight gets lost in the hospital and, posing as a doctor, performs surgery on the upper class man. The hospital authorities become worried about how Aqsa obtained her injury and call the police, however the policeman who arrives knows Mobeen and states that he's sure he would never intentionally hurt his sister. After this, the upper class man comes to the police officer and complains about his anus being stitched up.
7
3
"Return of the Pack"
Ollie Parsons
Guz Khan and Andy Milligan
6 February 2019 (2019-02-06)
Mobeen's old friend Cal is released from prison and struggles to adjust to a crime-free life. Nate and Eight organise a homecoming party for Cal but Azaar arrives and Cal robs him at gunpoint. Aqsa is angry with Mobeen when she finds out he isn't her official legal guardian.
8
4
"Fake News"
Ollie Parsons
Guz Khan and Andy Milligan
6 February 2019 (2019-02-06)
While queuing outside an indoor mini golf centre, where Mobeen, Nate, Eight and Aqsa are going to celebrate Aqsa's 16th birthday, Mobeen is filmed punching a dog, which is sent to attack him by its owner, who'd argued with Mobeen about her place in the queue. The video goes viral and Mobeen enlists Uncle Shady's help to remove it from the internet. While Mobeen is on a date with Aqsa's teacher, Miss Aitken, Nate and Eight are attacked by Azaar and his gang, leaving Mobeen plotting revenge.
Series Three (2020)
No. overall
No. in series
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
9
1
"You Reap What You Sow"
Ollie Parsons
Guz Khan and Andy Milligan
26 January 2020 (2020-01-26)
10
2
"Moving Food"
Ollie Parsons
Guz Khan and Andy Milligan
26 January 2020 (2020-01-26)
11
3
"Permanent Exclusion"
Ollie Parsons
Guz Khan and Andy Milligan
26 January 2020 (2020-01-26)
12
4
"Boys In The Wood"
Ollie Parsons
Guz Khan and Andy Milligan
26 January 2020 (2020-01-26)
13
5
"This Is The Ends"
Ollie Parsons
Guz Khan and Andy Milligan
26 January 2020 (2020-01-26)
Series Four (2023)
No. overall
No. in series
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
14
1
"Gotta Catch 'Em All"
Akaash Meeda
Guz Khan and Andy Milligan
8 June 2023 (2023-06-08)
Mobeen and Nate are 2 weeks away from finishing their sentences, with Mobeen being a designated listener. His work as a listener gets him into trouble with an inmate known as Megalodon, who attempts to transfer with Sajid's cousin Chippy. Aqsa returns, and complains about medical school.
15
2
"It's Not What You Know..."
Akaash Meeda
Guz Khan and Andy Milligan
8 June 2023 (2023-06-08)
While in the prison infirmary trying to befriend a man named "Memory Stick", who has information on Khan, he meets Nida, the infirmary doctor, who takes interest in Mobeen and helps his sister Aqsa getting a placement for her medical degree. Nate and Harper start to develop a friendship, which makes Mobeen jealous.
16
3
"For the Many, Not the Few..."
Akaash Meeda
Guz Khan and Andy Milligan
8 June 2023 (2023-06-08)
Mobeen tries to visit Nida in the night, but is caught by Harper and Nate, who force him to get information on Memory Stick, whose name is revealed to be Colin. An inmate known as Jamal needs help dealing with losing his kids, and Mobeen and Harper deal with him, which in turn makes Colin agree to work with them. Megalodon attempts to attack Mobeen when he tries to enter Jamal's cell, which is stopped when he is defended by Chippy and Sajid. As a result, Megalodon incapacitates Chippy, and Mobeen tries to kill him. Megalodon knocks him and Sajid out, and starts a prison riot.
17
4
"Death Row Records"
Akaash Meeda
Guz Khan and Andy Milligan
8 June 2023 (2023-06-08)
Mobeen and Sajid escape their cell and escape to the Chaplain during the riot, along with Harper, Nate, and Colin. Megalodon arrives with Nida - revealed to be the daughter of Khan - who takes the memory stick. Megalodon then stabs Mobeen while the Tornado Team enter. A mid-credits scene shows Mobeen awake in the hospital bed, and Aqsa in Sharjah, about to be in a meeting with Khan.
Critical reception
Writing for the Financial Times, Harriet Fitch Little described the first series as "an exceptionally funny character comedy that spins jokes with a subtlety that’s rare for such a young writer".[12] Before the release of the third series in January 2020, the NME's Gary Ryan said that Man Like Mobeen "isn't just one of the funniest sitcoms of recent times – it may also be one of the most important" and described the show as "Only Fools and Horses meets Breaking Bad – a lightning-in-a-bottle sitcom that features flawed-but-loveable characters you enjoy hanging out with, while actually saying something about the world they inhabit".[5]
