If you mixed the setup of The Office with the satire of The Colbert Report, and then took it to the hills of Afghanistan, you’d have The Ministry.
The Ministry is set in “Hechland” (meaning Nothingland), and the central character is the head of a fictional ministry of garbage. But the show’s themes—corruption, nepotism, ineptitude—come straight out of the ministries in Kabul.
The New York Times encapsulates the cast:
The characters are people most Afghans can easily recognize: the “react first, think later” minister of waste collection and his fawning and not terribly bright brother-in-law who works as the ministry’s administrative officer; his pretty young secretary; the butler who serves tea; the minister’s ambitious top adviser and his self-aggrandizing and not very efficient bodyguard.
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And the first thirty seconds of the trailer encapsulates the tone. “The story of how I became minister is too long, and I don’t want to get into it now,” the minister tells the mockumentary camera. “Let’s just say that no one’s talent and ability goes unnoticed for too long. And by God’s grace, I have both talent and ability.”
The concept of publicly mocking the powers that be may not seem immediately compatible with Afghanistan, a country that is often portrayed as severely traditional. But one of the producers told Reuters that “no one thinks there is anything to be concerned about.”
The makers of The Ministry are not the first to point out Afghan foibles through humor. The Wall Street Journal profiled an artist in April who took his satire to the streets. On one occasion, he dressed up as a policeman, set up a fake roadside checkpoint and gave drivers money when they stopped—a pointed reversal of the country’s bribe culture. On another he made fake campaign posters for himself, in which he wore a black turban and a gold-plated gun on a giant gold chain, gangsta-style.
Satire is a healthy sign in any culture. It signifies awareness, an ability to poke fun at faults and a desire to be better. So kudos to you, Ministry. May your run be long and hilarious.
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Katy Steinmetz is a reporter at TIME. Find her on Twitter at @KatySteinmetz. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.