Count Abdulla (2023) User Reviews

This is rough, and we really tried, but nope. Terrible!

[ronan73 · 4/10 · 23 July 2023]

A muslim vampire doctor...thats as funny as it gets.

There are some "jokes" but they are from the 70s. All been done to death many many times before and werent funny the first time around either.

Some social issues do get raised too, but as subtly as a sledghammer, which I expected.

Its a 1 joke tv show because the writer is not a comedy writer. Hes a Cambridge history graduate. Probably a nice guy but not a comedy writer. I guess he got an opportunity and took it, fair enough. But it didnt work this time.

People are scoring it 10 for reasons known only to themselves. 10 means perfection!! Check the shows below and then ask how people scored this a 10???

Curb you enthusiasm 8.8.

Friday night dinner 8.1 Everybody hates Chris 7.5 Fresh prince 7.9 Office UK 8.5 Chappelle show 8.8 Fawlty Towers 8.8 Key & Peele 8.3.

League of Gentlemen 8.4 Inbetweeners 8.4.

Watch 1 episode of Count abdullah and then look at this list and ask yourself how you would score it compared to those shows.

Wow, this was really bad

[kpassa · 1/10 · 27 June 2023]

I watched the entire series before reviewing just to make sure I wasn't missing something good but in the end all I did was waste my time. No good storyline, no real comedy, no big plot twists, and on top of it all it was grossly bigoted and insulting. Just imagine how it would have been received if a bunch of white characters had made so many slurs about brown people, thrown someone out of a party for dressing as a native or stereotyping people even half as much as they constantly did in this series. Not only would it not made it to production, a lot of writers would be fired and probably prevented from ever working again. But apparently in some circles it's okay to trash people as long as they are in the right group. It might have made some people laugh but it won't work in the long run.

Vampire with a twist...

[JaffacakeQueen · 8/10 · 19 June 2023]

The 30 minute episodes are a perfect length for this fast paced series; I only planned to watch a couple of episodes and ended up watching the whole series. Yes, there are some of the usual Asian jokes (overbearing mum etc...) but in amongst the comedy, there are some serious issues too which elevates this from just another funny but ultimately forgettable show. I also love how this is such a different take on the whole vampire genre - the usual posh pale vampires only make an appearance later on and even then, they aren't the main event. Great casting too - Kathy the Vampire had me in stitches. I'm curious as to what season 2 holds after the fantastic end to this first season.

It's bad! Really bad!

[purple-mug · 1/10 · 15 June 2023]

I'm not sure I have the words to describe just how bad this show is. It misses all its targets. As a comedy it fails to produce a single even remotely amusing moment. As a reflection on the humorous side of the Muslim community it is cringingly embarrassing. It's certainly no "We Are Lady Parts". As a revision of the vampire genre it's all over the place. If Nina Wadia hadn't been in the cast (did she just never read the rest of the script?) I would probably have avoided this whole debacle. Instead I'm just embarrassed for everyone concerned. If this is meant to prove, as advertised, that "comedy is back" on ITV then this is comedy that we could well do without.

Intense, fast paced + very funny

[askingston · 10/10 · 17 June 2023]

Great to see this ensemble cast pull together such a well written script in a condensed 6-parter. Yes, many of the cliches about Indians pop-up, over-bearing mother, Indian boy-girl issues ... but having watched the episodes a few times, writer and director have crammed in a lot of funny content here. Perhaps lengthier episodes / or just more episodes would have helped developed the characters further and built up the ending. Each episode plays on classic Asian - English themes: Halloween and Eid clashing, Toff vampires versus Kathy and her working class roots. Particularly loved Shafi, a rough rogue with his heart in the right place and his mate with the bat!

Daft comedy that's more miss than hit

[JRB-NorthernSoul · 3/10 · 23 June 2023]

A British/Pakistani GP is bitten by a vampire and hilarity unfortunately doesn't ensue. On the positive side its nice to see a comedy exploring and set in the British/Pakistani community which is much under-represented on our screens.

I'm just not sure this will work for a broadstream ITV audience as its been written in a very niche vein. Its not a patch on C4's 'We are lady parts' - Nida Manzoor's anarchic and irreverent music comedy about a Muslim female punk band, which deservedy won her a Bafta last year.

The script could have been better with more laughs and often seemed more concerned with virtue signalling than being funny.

Might have found a bigger audience on C4 or BBC3 as its main appeal will be to a much younger audience than ITV gets.

Nothing special about the production values and no stand outs in the cast, overall a disappointment - hard to see being re-commissioned.

No, not even once

[jackdeth_2006 · 2/10 · 18 January 2024]

How I managed to sit through this show is nothing short of a miracle comparable to the one on the Hudson.

Every character is insufferable, every line grates on you like nails on a blackboard, while being delivered by an actor or actress as out of place and over the top, as the SNL crew trying to do the most serious of Shakespeare. Every joke is either as bland and inoffensive as a 1950s knock knock joke or as aggressively woke as a Lilly Singh skit on an American college campus.

I'm not sure if this show has any redeeming features, but I can't find them.... I don't know if the BBC made this show, but all their fingerprint hallmarks are there.

Excellent twist on the vampire genre

[nomorereign · 9/10 · 17 June 2023]

As a fan of the vampire genre, I have seen just about every interpretation, but by far this was one of the best. As the recent entries of Interview with a Vampire, What We Do In the Shadows and Reginald The Vampire, this show adds another viewpoint that we normally don't see. As this series masterfully blends the culture clash trope with the Vampire comedy, as we find a female Vampire with a East Indian fetish who just so happens to bite a down on his luck Indian doctor, which is where the series gives a nod of the hat to Scrubs. As this concurrently running tropes altogether should not work but this one does. As the delving into the world of Muslim families will remind viewers of Bend It Like Beckham and Ramy but recently having seen Polite Society, this absolutely harkens to many of that brilliant movie's themes. I can only tell the viewer to give it a chance as it will surprise you just how funny and insightful it is while carving out its own niche in the vampire genre.

Great viewing

[daveditch-53291 · 10/10 · 19 June 2023]

This series will be like marmite for most people . You'll love it or hate it , I don't think there'll be much in between.

It is well cast and we'll played. Jaime Winston is the best vampire I've seen in a long time. Abdulla and his mother time things to perfection and are great . The supporting cast are excellent.

Some aspects of the humour are actually quite cheesy and the more serious folk will see them as cringe worthy. They're not they're probably meant to be that way with some brilliantly human behaviour observations ( you do need to listen and watch carefully at some points). A specific example is his mate the Imam. Whatever he comes across as he is fiercely loyal and he gives us more than a few laughs whilst we work him out.

The whole thing is played for laughs and has a mix of cultural and religious observation with some great lines. It is not offensive although I have no doubt some will manage to see it as that with lines such as "how can I be a Muslim halal vampire". You find yourself laughing with them, not at them.

As I said, marmite but you won't know until you've tried it.

Hilarious

[mental_chelsea · 9/10 · 19 March 2024]

I had nearly stopped watching it at the beginning, but the more episodes I watched the funnier it became. Love the twist at the end of season 1. Hope Season 2 comes soon. I feel in love with the characters. The posh vampires are very annoying and can not wait for something to happen to them. The main characters are brilliant and hilarious. Sometimes the episodes are over the top, but that is what makes it great. Please, please, please bring the next season soon.

The cousin is very annoying and well over the top. The only none vampire character I do not like. Will be interesting to see what happens.