The Revolution Will Be Televised
The Revolution Will Be Televised is a British television satire show starring Heydon Prowse and Jolyon Rubinstein, which was first screened on BBC Three in August 2012. Writing for The Guardian, Sam Wollaston said it's "Sacha Baron Cohen with a bit more substance then, or Mark Steel with a few more laughs". At the 2013 British Academy Television Awards, the show won Best Comedy Programme.
Prowse and Rubinstein followed up The Revolution Will Be Televised with the TV film Brexageddon?! in 2016, then the prank/sketch show Revolting in 2017.
Programme content
The programme is a montage of satirical pranks and sketches carried out by Prowse and Rubinstein to "fight back" against "a world full of hypocrisy, corruption and greed." Sometimes featuring fictional characters, most of the show's content consists of the two presenters making a mockery of the wrongdoings of politicians, bankers, and that in other current affairs, in an attempt to try to emphasise its immorality. The public involved usually has no idea that what is being carried out is satire, and are usually fooled by the antics of Rubinstein and Prowse, which leads to some interesting reactions.
Notable regular sketches
Inside the Story: Rubinstein dresses as "fearless hetero journalist" Dale Maily and goes out to events to deliver what he claims "fair, impartial news", by interviewing people at the event. It is in fact not impartial as he often tries to be controversial when speaking to people, voicing his highly conservative, borderline racist and generally far right opinions to them. Dale Maily is a parody of Daily Mail. James and Barnaby: James Twottington-Burbage and Barnaby Plankton are Conservative and Lib Dem MPs respectively who try to convince people on the street to agree with views of theirs that are generally unpopular or controversial with the public, or with a particular division of the public, often with a stuck up and elitist attitude which is a stereotype of the Conservative Party or Coalition. Examples include trying to convince people on the streets of London that MPs deserve a pay rise, and hoping to get Scottish football fans to vote against independence. James often dominates the conversation which represents the popular stereotype that the power of the Conservatives overrules the Liberal Democrats in the Coalition.BBCOMGWTF: Rubinstein is Zam Zmith, a showbiz news reporter who interviews celebrities at film premières and festivals with typical questions that such a reporter would ask with informal, teenage-style mannerisms, then abruptly changing the topic to something on current affairs, causing the celebrities to look baffled.Ewan Jeffries: Labour MP is someone who will "stand tall, stand proud and tell you anything you need to hear in order to get your vote". He constantly tries to relate with the people he speaks to in order to try and look like he has a lot in common. If someone disagrees with a point he is making he will often make a U-turn and agree with them instead.Robin and Penny: Rubinstein is Robin a Corbyn supporter and Prowse is Penny a Labour M.P who supports Blairism they follow Labour under Jeremy Corbyn.Dennis Pound: Prowse is Pound a member of UK Independence Party who is trying to find new policies now Brexit has happened.
- "Honest" subtitles: This is a clip of a real speech from a politician at a party conference or an interview on a current affairs programme such as Newsnight. Instead of providing a real transcription of the politician's words, the subtitles display what could be considered the real public perception on what they actually mean, hence "honest".
Episode list
Series 2
The second series of the show was first broadcast on BBC Three on 10 November 2013. Co-creator Jolyon Rubinstein confirmed via Twitter that the second series would start on 10 November 2013. Sam Wollaston of The Guardian said that "It's outrageous and audacious to the point that it's sometimes painful to watch. Hilarious, though".
Series 3
It was announced in September 2014 that the show would return for a third series including items filmed in the United States.
| Episode | Date of broadcast | Rating |
| Episode 1 | 7 October 2014 | |
| Episode 2 | 14 October 2014 | |
| Episode 3 | 21 October 2014 | |
| Episode 4 | 28 October 2014 | |
| Episode 5 | 4 November 2014 | |
| Episode 6 | 11 November 2014 | |
| Highlights Special | 18 November 2014 | |
The Revolution Presents: Democracy Dealers
| Episode | Date of broadcast | Rating |
| Democracy Dealers | 18 February 2015 | |