British Airways reverses plan to drop Jewish comedy 'Hapless' from inflight TV

Dec. 19 (UPI) -- British Airways on Tuesday reversed its decision to pull the Jewish comedy Hapless from its in-flight entertainment service amid the Israel-Hamas war.

The airline apologized for causing any "upset and hurt" over plans to remove the series from its planned line-up for December. The British sitcom follows an investigative journalist working for a small Jewish publication in the United Kingdom.

The airline said the show will appear on flights in January.

In October, after the start of the Israel-Hamas war, Hapless creator Gary Sinyor was told the airline was going to pause a deal to show the series because it didn't want to appear to be "taking sides."

The show has streamed on Netflix and Amazon Prime and in November, Peacock announced it had acquired the U.S. rights to Seasons 1 and 2.

In an interview with Deadline, Sinyor called British Airways' decision to drop Hapless as a "mistake."

"Everyone is treading on eggshells," he said. "As a Jewish filmmaker, I have to understand that and -- not wishing to sound too Christian -- I have to forgive. But I still need to challenge where mistakes are made and delaying a British comedy because of the Middle East was a mistake."

Hapless, which premiered in 2020, has been described as Curb Your Enthusiasm meets Alan Partridge. It stars Tim Downie, Josh Howie, Jeany Spark, Michael Fenton Stevens and Daniel Sinyor.