Nasim Pedrad’s ‘Chad’ Season 2 Gets Rescued by Roku
After being pulled from TBS’ lineup earlier this year, the second season of Nasim Pedrad’s coming-of-age comedy series Chad will run on The Roku Channel. The show was one of many scripted casualties at the network following the WarnerMedia-Discovery merger. Now Roku, which previously acquired Quibi‘s library, will show the second season, which was originally set to debut in April and then in July. Roku will also carry the non-exclusive rights to Chad’s first season, which was the number 1 new scripted comedy for the network at the time.
The SNL alum stars in the titular role, and the show has been a passion project for her for a decade, as it was initially developed for Fox before moving to TBS following its pilot. The show follows the trials and tribulations faced by a Persian-American teen boy named Chad Amani.
Although surviving the chopping block would usually be a cause of celebration, Iranian-born Pedrad expressed mixed emotions about the move to Roku in a statement to Deadline.
“So much of my heart is infused in this show,” she said. “While I feel conflicted celebrating anything right now as the people of my homeland are in the midst of a revolution against an oppressive regime, I’m grateful to have a platform where I can talk about it. I’m grateful to be part of a diaspora of Iranians, all from various sectors, utilizing their reach and resources to help amplify the voices of the Iranian people. And I’m especially grateful to be promoting a show that portrays an Iranian American family from a place of humor, humanity, and empathy— something I had longed for growing up.”
This comes following the recent events where more than 200 Iranian citizens have died due to government protest crackdowns sparked by the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for not wearing her hijab to official standards.
Over the weekend, Iranian-Americans, including Pedrad, caravanned from San Diego for a demonstration in Los Angeles, posting on social media that she is “forever with the people of Iran.”
View this post on Instagram
