The vaunted return of the comic to Egyptian TV brought hope for beleaguered Arab audiences but it appeared that some topics were off limits

From 2012 to 2014, cardiac surgeon turned YouTuber Youssef was the most popular man in the Arab world.

A product of the 2011 revolution and the newfound freedom of the time, Youssef was an instant smash with his Daily Show-styled political comedy.

He quickly secured TV deals with privately owned channels that would later be consolidated by the Sisi regime.

Youssef’s El Bernameg (The Programme) was a sensation: brazen, inventive and uncouth satirical news that took aim at the successive ruling regimes: Mubarak, the Muslim Brotherhood and then the military regime of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

The failure of the revolution and Sisi’s ascent brought an abrupt end to El Bernameg. Its cancellation was extensively documented in Youssef’s stand-up routines, interviews, and the 2016 documentary Tickling Giants.

The acerbic criticism that Egyptians once cheered during the brief Muslim Brotherhood era was outright rejected when it began to target Sisi.