A television program that stars a puppet called "Red Hat" is creating a stir among Iranian viewers this election season, touching on sanctions, inflation, lack of free speech and other topics of great sensitivity in the Islamic Republic.

The show debuted 23 years ago, during the early months of Hashemi Rafsanjani’s second term as president, and quickly became a favorite for Iranian viewers. The puppet, named for his red headgear, represents an orphaned village boy who comes to Tehran in search of a friend and gets into all kinds of mischief. The friend, the host of a kids’ television show, is known simply as Mr. Host. Red Hat, who lived with his grandmother in the village, used to watch the show at a TV repair shop. Mr. Host became Red Hat’s idol and he decided to come to Tehran to meet him.

During the Rafsanjani presidency, a joke circulated widely: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei summons Rafsanjani and asks him why so many Iranians are imitating Red Hat’s nasal voice. Rafsanjani replies in the same voice, having also succumbed to Red Hat’s influence.

The puppet behaves like any little boy, kicking a soccer ball in alleys as young Iranians do and getting into trouble. Once, he accidentally drank vinegar and ended up sticking his head in the freezer.