HBO’s new comedy ‘The Brink’ shows Pakistan’s geopolitical instability

A motley crew of four tasked with ensuring that a Pakistani military coup doesn’t tip the world into chaos.

The new HBO show, The Brink, is an American political comedy which showcases geopolitical crisis in different parts of the world. The first season set in Pakistan, is an attempt to recreate the country’s current scenario and focuses on its political instability.

PHOTO: BRIOUX.TV

The dark comedy revolves around contrasting characters who must save the world from WWIII. Affected by the chaos around them they have to find a way to compromise with each other and prevent the eminent catastrophe at hand. Tim Robbins (from Shawshank Redemption) plays Walter Larson, a skirt-chasing, booze-swindling US Secretary of State who takes the help of a sleazy foreign-service peon, Alex Coppins (Jack Black) and is accompanied by a cynical Pakistani US embassy worker, Rafiq Massoud (Aasif Mandvi from Million Dollar Arm) and an ace Navy fighter pilot Zeke Callahan (Pablo Schreiber).

PHOTO: HBO

Taking a comedic twist on global annihilation, the show must tread carefully not to provoke any hate or bias from either side by depicting war-laden countries in the series. Written by former Weeds executive producer Roberto Benabib and his brother Kim Benabib, The Brink “might be heightened comically, but it’s very real. The situation in Pakistan is the Pentagon’s worst nightmare, and they are gaming it out,” said Robert.

PHOTO: WORDPRESS

The show set to premiere in June has already shot the first season which primarily focuses on Pakistan and the geopolitical turbulence it faces. According to Vanity Fair, “It’s a motley crew tasked with ensuring that a Pakistani military coup doesn’t tip the world into chaos, which could make for a pretty tense, grim series.” The trailer has been released on Facebook and has already received multiple comments:

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GrayScale, a Pakistan-based television & film production company, was involved in the video shoot of the HBO series. From stock shots to photography for their backgrounds, this production team has worked closely on the first season of the comedy show.

 

In an earlier version of this article it was mentioned that GrayScale worked on the teaser video, however, the team has worked on the first season that was shot in Pakistan. The correction has been made and the error is regretted.