“#1 Happy Family USA,” on Prime Video: The tragicomic journey of a Muslim-American family after the 9/11 attacks

PRIME VIDEO – ON DEMAND – ANIMATED SERIES

It's a perilous exercise that stand-up comedian Ramy Youssef has undertaken: choosing to tell, in a comic register, the story of the upheaval of a Muslim teenager in New York after the attacks of September 11, 2001. # 1 Happy Family USA contrasts somewhat with the intimate and subtle tone of Ramy (available on demand on France.tv and Arte.com), his highly acclaimed series about the questions of a New Jerseyan in his late thirties born to an Egyptian immigrant family. This animated sitcom, however, complements his intimate and political exploration of what it means to be a Muslim American today.

Its new hero, 12-year-old Rumi Hussein, grows up in an integrated and rather happy family. His main concern is fantasizing about a forbidden love with his teacher, until the fall of the World Trade Center twin towers forces him and his loved ones to multiply their efforts, even if it means renouncing their culture, to appear harmless and as American as possible.

The survival mode is summed up quite well by one of Rumi's black classmates in a dialogue from episode 2: "Being yourself in public is for white people." A necessity also caricatured by a clever gag: each time they enter their home, the Husseins change their appearance and attire. As the episodes progress, the characters' energy, led by that of the head of the family, mischievously named Hussein Hussein, erodes, and gives way to paranoia, even more so when FBI agents get involved. Although busy with more or less autobiographical characters, Ramy Youssef excels in developing the supporting cast.

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