"Here Come the Habibs!" is not the perfect show but it has the potential to be one the best Australian sitcoms in years.
Since "Acropolis Now" finishing airing in 1992, there has not been a great ethnic Australian comedy on television. "Pizza" was on SBS in the 2000s but that show was too crass and stereotypical for mainstream audiences.
Rob Shehadie and Tahir Bilgic, who were in "Pizza", are the creators of "Here Come the Habibs!" and the show is more light-hearted than the SBS sitcom. The show could be labelled as a Lebanese-Australian "Beverly Hillbillies" but it is more than that.
There are clear differences between the Anglo-Celtic Australian O'Neill family and the Lebanese Australian Habib family but these differences give the show its spark.
Olivia O'Neill is the bigoted matriarch who wants the Habibs out of the affluent Sydney suburb of Vaucluse while her neurotic husband Jack is the one trying to be the peacemaker.
Fou Fou is the serious patriarch of the Habib family who wants the best for his kids and Mariam is the protective but pleasant mother and she also the antithesis of Olivia.
Toufic and Layla provide most of the program's "dumb humour", especially the former with his outrageous schemes.
Elias is the youngest of the Habib children. He is perhaps the most of plain of the characters, as well as Madison who is the only child of the O'Neills. Despite this, Elias and Madison provide the show with its most subtle moments.
This comedy brings more awareness of Lebanese culture that has not been seen a lot on Australian television before. While Olivia has a stereotypical view of her neighbours, the story lines that unfold show that the stereotypes aren't as accurate as she makes them out to be.
"Here Come the Habibs" doesn't stay true to the stereotypes. It plays with them and pokes fun at them. The mannerisms of the characters as well as the contrasting lifestyles and attitudes make the show tick.
Since "Acropolis Now" finishing airing in 1992, there has not been a great ethnic Australian comedy on television. "Pizza" was on SBS in the 2000s but that show was too crass and stereotypical for mainstream audiences.
Rob Shehadie and Tahir Bilgic, who were in "Pizza", are the creators of "Here Come the Habibs!" and the show is more light-hearted than the SBS sitcom. The show could be labelled as a Lebanese-Australian "Beverly Hillbillies" but it is more than that.
There are clear differences between the Anglo-Celtic Australian O'Neill family and the Lebanese Australian Habib family but these differences give the show its spark.
Olivia O'Neill is the bigoted matriarch who wants the Habibs out of the affluent Sydney suburb of Vaucluse while her neurotic husband Jack is the one trying to be the peacemaker.
Fou Fou is the serious patriarch of the Habib family who wants the best for his kids and Mariam is the protective but pleasant mother and she also the antithesis of Olivia.
Toufic and Layla provide most of the program's "dumb humour", especially the former with his outrageous schemes.
Elias is the youngest of the Habib children. He is perhaps the most of plain of the characters, as well as Madison who is the only child of the O'Neills. Despite this, Elias and Madison provide the show with its most subtle moments.
This comedy brings more awareness of Lebanese culture that has not been seen a lot on Australian television before. While Olivia has a stereotypical view of her neighbours, the story lines that unfold show that the stereotypes aren't as accurate as she makes them out to be.
"Here Come the Habibs" doesn't stay true to the stereotypes. It plays with them and pokes fun at them. The mannerisms of the characters as well as the contrasting lifestyles and attitudes make the show tick.