British Airways has cancelled plans to screen the Jewish sitcom series "Hapless" on its airplane media system. This is the third season of the series, which currently airs on Amazon Prime, but was removed from the British airline's broadcast program out of "fear that passengers would think it was taking sides in the conflict".
According to a report by The Telegraph, the airline's executives signed a £20,<> deal in August for the rights to show the sitcom on its flights, and it was due to be available for a six-month period from December.
The World's Favourite Airline? Hey @British_Airways. You'll have @Baddiel on you...#Hapless doesn't take sides unless you mean against Hamas. https://t.co/4cviShqUqi
— Gary Sinyor (@garysinyor) December 15, 2023
A few days after the Hamas attack and massacre in Israel, British Airways decided to stop the move.
Gary Senior, the writer and director of the sitcom, was informed of the decision by Spafax, an international licensing agency responsible for anchoring the rights to films and TV shows shown on airplanes, and was told that the airline planned to halt the deal to show "hapless" on its planes because it did not want to be seen as "taking sides." The decision, it turned out, was part of a broader content review commissioned by the airline in the wake of the conflict.
"British Airways has asked us to review content that is screened on flights and could be related to Israel-Palestine relations and the conflict that is taking place," Senior said in an email from Spafax. "The company's priority is to remain as neutral as possible in these situations. As a result, we were asked to remove the series from the December lineup, but we would be happy to bring it back when the conflict calms down."
Senior, himself Jewish, wanted to emphasize that the sitcom is not based on Israel, and his only connection to it is the fact that there are Jewish characters in the series. He said he tried to persuade the company to reverse its decision, but was told the company did not want to go back to its original plan.
What's so frustrating is I gave them fair warning to undo it. It could have been a quiet "error in communication". But no joy. Now it appears more thought out - not less. https://t.co/QejCMVwfCI
— Gary Sinyor (@garysinyor) December 16, 2023
After being refused, Senior took to social media, writing: "What's frustrating is that I gave them a chance to reverse the decision. It could have been a 'miscommunication'. But no. It seems to have been deliberate and calculated."
In an interview with The Telegraph, he added: "I think the Muslim community would also be concerned if they found that series that included Muslim humour or Muslim content, created by Muslims, were removed in this way, even though it was a temporary removal."
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