Netflix yanks 'Designated Survivor' episode in Turkey over portrayal of fictional president
A Turkish regulator has ordered Netflix to remove an episode of "Designated Survivor" that paints an unflattering portrayal of a fictional Turkish president.
The US streaming giant Netflix has bowed to Turkish regulators’ demands that it take down an episode of its show "Designated Survivor," ostensibly over its portrayal of a fictional Turkish president as a bullying and venal dictator.
Episode 7 of season two, titled “Family Ties,” will only be yanked in Turkey and continue to be available in the rest of the world. Variety, which broke the story, said that Netflix had complied with censors in different countries nine times before.
The most recent instance was in January 2019, when Saudi Arabia threatened legal action over an episode of “Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj” which mocked Saudi Arabia’s clumsy attempts to whitewash the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
It is unsurprising that Turkey’s broadcasting watchdog RTUK pressed the censorship button for "Designated Survivor." The Turkish president character is unmistakably inspired by Turkey’s authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
