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Review of "The State" 9/26/17 by Suzanne
airs Mondays on NatGeo

I didn't think I would like this at first because I don't generally like shows about the middle east or war.  However, it's a very gripping tale that drew me in right away. My only complaint is that there wasn't any closed-captioning, so I sometimes had trouble understanding what the actors were saying. I was watching it On Demand, so it's possible that the live shows do have the closed-captioning.  They also have helpful little pop-ups that explain what some of the Muslim words mean.

The show starts with some British people crossing some border in the middle of the night. We soon learn that they've escaped their lives to join ISIS.  It's a very informative drama about what happens to people who join them.  They obviously did a lot of work on researching this. It's not just educational, though. It's a great drama with some very fine acting as well.

My favorite character was Jalal, a young man who joins up to fight. He's played well by Sam Otto. He reminds me a bit of Josh Henderson ("Dallas," "The Arrangement"). Ony Uhiara is also excellent as Shakira, a young mother who's joined with her son. Don't miss this one!

MORE INFORMATION:

A powerful new drama from renowned writer/director Peter Kosminsky, The State follows the experiences of four British men and women who leave their lives behind to join ISIS in Syria. In an unflinching depiction of the realities of life under ISIS, The State provides a deeply authentic drama through which we are able to explore and confront one of the most important issues of our time.