Separated at Birth Review: Unfunny Jokes, Unlikeable Lead
A critic's review of ABC's new comedy Separated at Birth, created by and starring Nazeem Hussain, finds unfunny jokes, an unlikeable lead and an unconvincing plot, despite a premise the reviewer calls strong. The series is on ABC iview.
ABC's new comedy Separated at Birth, created by and starring Australian-Sri Lankan comedian Nazeem Hussain, has drawn a harsh review: a critic published on November 11, 2026 found unfunny jokes, an unlikeable lead and an unconvincing plot. The series is streaming on ABC iview.
The premise
Hussain co-wrote the show and plays Sameer, a paramedic. Moments after his wife Aaleyah (Sana'a Shaik) gives birth, she asks him for a divorce from the delivery room.
The story then follows Sameer as he tries to handle parenthood while sharing custody. He is surrounded by his large, well-intentioned family and his snobbish ex-in-laws.
The reviewer calls that premise strong. The execution is the problem.
Where the critic says it fails
The review says the show "tries too hard to make us laugh" from its opening sequence. In it, Sameer banters with his work friend Donna (Urzila Carlson) about preferring work to being with his wife in labour.
The critic notes that the clueless man-child character is familiar comic territory, and that films such as Step Brothers, Bridesmaids and Role Models have turned it into comedy. But the review argues the audience must believe the behavior suits the character, and here a hard-boiled paramedic acting so incompetently does not ring true.
Sameer himself is the central complaint. The review describes him as "a cowardly, snivelling protagonist" who lies to those around him and avoids accountability. It also finds him inconsistent, pointing to his attempt to stop relatives from seeing the new baby and to his forgetting that he helped pick the name Omar for his son.
The critic says Hussain looks uncomfortable as a dramatic actor, over-enunciating his lines as he strains for laughs. The supporting characters, from the in-laws to Donna, are described as caricatures.
Jokes that miss
Some lines are set up to land. Sameer tells Aaleyah: "I'm no child psychologist, but surely it's like milk first, divorce later?" The review says the balance between drama and comedy is off, so the gags fall flat.
It also calls some humor needlessly petty and unpleasant. One example is Donna drinking the water Sameer, a practicing Muslim, uses for washing. The critic adds that there are "a few genuine chuckles" but not enough to carry the show.
Shaik is the exception. The review says she seems "totally naturalistic and at ease" while the rest of the cast appear uncomfortable with the material.
The critic's closing word is a conditional one: viewers who find a fist fight between two Muslim men at an aqiqah party, a celebration of birth in which the baby's head is shaved, "comedic gold" may see the series out to the end.
