A comedy series labelled ‘pathetic’ by viewers has still managed to soar up the Netflix charts to become one of the most watched shows in the UK.
Released this week, Son of a Donkey was created by brothers Theo and Nathan Saidden.
The siblings are best known for their Superw** YouTube channel, on which they boast over three million subscribers. Their sketches follow character Theo and his friend Johnny as they find themselves in all kinds of trouble throughout the Australian suburbia.
It was later turned into a TV series, with two seasons airing in 2019 and 2021. While it was rolled out worldwide on Netflix, it was renamed Superbro as the original title has a different meaning outside Australia.
The siblings have now launched their second series – however many have brutally declared it ‘completely unfunny’.
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The synopsis of the six-episode series has teased: ‘Theo comes up with chaotic schemes to save his impounded car. Meanwhile, his dying dad will stop at nothing to find himself a new kidney.’
In its review of the series, The Conversation explained: ‘The main challenge for the Saidden brothers is to move from the disconnected episodic approach of Superw** to a cohesive narrative arc for Son of a Donkey. In this, they largely succeed, progressing the overarching story incrementally across the six episodes even as each has their own micro-misadventure.’
However, Decider had a completely different take: ‘If we didn’t know that the Saidden brothers already scored a successful series with the characters of Theo and Johnny, we would have had no idea why Netflix ever greenlit Son of a Donkey.
‘There isn’t a laugh to be found in the first episode; in fact, where the home life that Theo leads is supposed to be so disgusting it’s funny, it actually feels sad and tragic.’
Their sentiment was echoed by many who tuned in too.
‘What a waste of time. I can’t believe anyone would find this entertaining but luckily I fell asleep,’ user Wayne posted on IMDB.
‘This is pathetic. The jokes are weak and the whole thing sucks. It’s embarrassing to watch. These guys have lost the plot. The money has gone to their head,’ sgwsft declared.
‘This resembles something else deposited by a donkey. The biggest pile of dung I’ve ever had the misfortune to watch. Whoever commissioned this deserves punishment even greater than being forced to watch the whole series again,’ Tim added.
Many others called it ‘utter nonsense’ and ‘absolute rubbish’, adding they needed to ‘turn it off’ after giving the show a go.
Despite this, the series is currently the fourth most-watched series in the UK.
In 2021 the Saidden’s discussed how a childhood joke to make fun of their parents turned into an unexpected career path.
When the brothers were given a video camera from their mother to capture family memories as kids, they instead decided to use it to poke fun at their heritage.
‘My brother and I were always making each other laugh from a very young age by imitating people and playing characters,’ Theo told The West Australian.
‘Our mum gave us a handy cam when we were around 10 to shoot good memories and holidays but we ended up making f…ed up sketches on that camera.’
The sons of a Greek-Egyptian mother and Egyptian father, the pair were in their late teens when they decided to start uploading some of these sketches to YouTube.
In them, they presented the character of Superw** and his family and friends, whose ethnic heritage clashes with white Australian suburbia while undertaking everyday activities.
Reclaiming a term previously deemed offensive that belittled those of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern origin, the sketches instantly became a hit.
They also said they’d never faced much backlash for their sketches due to the fact their intentions were ‘never malicious’.
‘I think we will always push the boundaries but even though it is irreverent, at the end of the day we just want to make people laugh. We never want people to be offended.’
Son of a Donkey is streaming on Netflix.
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