CASE STUDY-‘Halal in the Family,’ a crowdfunded Web comedy

Actor Aasif Mandvi, who starred in Comedy Central’s fake news show, “The Daily Show,” where he held some pretty impressive fake job titles: Senior Middle East Correspondent, Senior Muslim Correspondent and, yes, even Senior Foreign-Looking Correspondent.

Mandvi is now bringing his comedic chops to the Web via his crowdfunded Web series, “Halal in the Family,” which debuted in April.

Mandvi, an Indian-American, describes the four-episode project as “a sitcom parody about an all-American Muslim family,” with the express goal of tweaking Muslim stereotypes (“We’re not that kind of Muslim!”). Mandvi plays Aasif Qu’osby (sound that surname aloud and you’ll get the joke), the goofy but paranoid dad of teens Whitney and Bobby and husband to Fatima who is notable for his love of multi-color sweaters and pork. Full episodes can be viewed on YouTube as well as the comedy website Funny or Die.

Sakina Jaffrey (“House of Cards,” “Mr. Robot”) as Aasif’s wife, Fatima; Shoba Narayanan (“Gossip Girl,” “Quantico”) as daughter Whitney, and Nicky Maindiratta as son Bobby.

Tongue-in-cheek: We’re just an ordinary family, living in your town (Don’t worry!)

We like monster trucks and football, even though we’re brown (We hate curry!)

So welcome to our clan

We promise there’s no plan

To change the way you live or how you pray

We’re just here to obey! (Your various laws and local ordinances).

Leveraging on the pulling power of celebrity: Appearances by fellow “Daily Show” alumni, including Jordan Klepper as a suspected FBI mole who befriends Aasif, and former correspondent Samantha Bee, as an image consultant who helps Bobby’s campaign for class president. Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter of the The Roots appears as Fatima’s level-headed Cousin Tariq.

Alternative funding/financing works: A hugely successful Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign raised enough funds for the production of four episodes. Mandvi and Khan, his co-writer and director, said they hope to produce more shows that satirize Islamaphobia in America.

Embed Islamic/Muslim content within familiar constructs: The Web series has attracted tens of thousands of viewers since the premier was uploaded in April. Mandvi has described the use of the tried-and-true family sitcom setup as an "access point" for viewers to get comfortable seeing Muslim stereotypes get dismantled and mocked through a familiar format. In the way that the Cosbys broke ground, offering an alterative take of average African-American families in America in the 1980s, Mandvi believes the Qu'osby family could help to normalize American Muslim culture.