Hasan Minhaj’s ‘Patriot Act’ to Return to Netflix With Virtual Episodes on May 17

After a coronavirus-induced hiatus, Hasan Minhaj comes back with new episodes of “Patriot Act” starting this Sunday, May 17, on Netflix. The series wrapped its first 32 episodes back December and was slated to come back with an additional seven on March 29. However, due to COVID-19, production on the show was shut down indefinitely.

The Peabody-winning series returns with an aptly titled episode, “What Happens if You Can’t Pay Rent?,” which will be filmed from his home in front of a green screen. The show’s renowned graphics will be added remotely. The same will apply to the other six episodes.

In 2019, Netflix removed an episode of “Patriot Act” from its service in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis said it allegedly violated anti-cybercrime law, upsetting free-speech advocates, CNBC reported. The show was one of nine takedowns that came from government bodies. The service has taken down episodes at the behest of leaders in Singapore, Vietnam, Germany and New Zealand in addition to Saudi Arabia.

In a statement made to The Streamable in February, Netflix stated that these takedowns were “not casual requests” and are more like “written government demands.”

“Netflix requires them to be valid, written legal demands from government bodies for us to comply,” the Netflix spokesperson wrote. “An example of where Netflix pushed back was in Brazil, where a lower court ruled the company should take down ‘The First Temptation of Christ.’ We appealed to the Supreme Court and won.”