Excerpt:
FX's drama "Tyrant," a story about the brutal ruling family of a fictional Middle Eastern country and the son who tries to modernize the regime, has come under heavy criticism in the early going. The show cast a non-Arab actor, Adam Rayner, in its lead role. It has relied heavily on exhausting sexual assault storylines. And perhaps most frustratingly, it has treated its setting as a staging ground to rehash "The Godfather," rather than as opportunity to tell a truly new story.
But for a group of Muslim and Arab policy experts who have begun consulting on the show, "Tyrant" is a chance to prove that their communities can be effective partners for Hollywood — and maybe even to shift the show's focus.
At a panel at the Television Critics Association press tour this week, the consultants outlined both their criticisms of "Tyrant" and their hopes for the show.