Country of origin United States No. of seasons 2 Executive producer(s) Saman Arbabi First episode date 11 May 2012 Presented by Arash Sobhani Language Persian | Original language(s) Persian No. of episodes 52 Location(s) Washington, D.C. Number of seasons 2 Number of episodes 52 | |
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OnTen (Persian: آنتن) is the award-winning hit satirical news show broadcast to Iran that tackles current domestic and international political and social issues. In a 30-minute weekly show, OnTen explores the headlines and the stories behind the headlines with cutting-edge production techniques, exclusive interviews, and witty analysis.
OnTen is broadcast by satellite into Iran by the Voice of America’s Persian Service, which claims that it currently reaches 21 percent of Iranians each week.
The show title, a play on words, means antenna in Persian and is also a slang term for "spy."
The show is the intellectual successor to Parazit, which was co-created by OnTen’s executive producer, Saman Arbabi.
The show’s second season is hosted by Iranian underground rock musician Arash Sobhani, who is also the founder and leader of the popular band, Kiosk.
Masih Alinejad, an Iranian journalist known for her ability to get Iranian officials to speak with her reports for the show from London.
Rounding out the cast is Saman Arbabi, who, during the first season also acted as the show's host and The Onion-style fake news anchor.
In an election-day special broadcast on June 14, 2013, OnTen featured a segment on street artist JR's Inside Out Project and aired a special message to the Iranian people from U2's Bono.