THE SHOW’S WRITERS HAD LONG WANTED TO EXPLORE RELIGION.

being themselves on screen. No big deal was made of it, and in a television landscape that seldom portrayed such a friend group, that's what made it kind of a big deal.

The first season's Parents episode, which showcased the gulf between immigrants and their Americanborn kids with humanity and humour, was especially affirming for viewers who had grown up watching TV shows that didn't reflect their experiences. Religion strikes a similar chord, and it happens to come at a particularly fraught time.

In the time between the show's first and second season, Donald Trump called for character from Homeland or some monster from the news.”

Master of None writers didn't suddenly decide Dev's character was from a Muslim family. Some viewers posted theories online dissecting Dev's name, speculating the character didn't come from a Muslim family. To this, Aniz said that people were “being too sleuth-y for their own good.” (In the show's canon, Dev shortened his last name to be an actor, Aniz added.)

Dev was always based on Aziz. And his parents, like the characters they play on the show, are devout Muslims. “There's all these kind of misguided depictions of Islam and Muslim people in media, film and TV, and we thought it was funny we had a character on our show that my dad plays, who is a clown, just a big goofball that everyone loves,” Aniz said.

The show's writers were able to further develop those characters this season. “It helped people get to know the characters of the parents in Season 1 and develop feeling and a fondness for them,” Aniz added.

“Religion” was written a year ago, but one of the final scenes was filmed the day after Election Day. Aniz said the writers talked about whether they should try to address the political climate and rhetoric in the national discourse. They even tinkered with the idea of including a montage showcasing Islamophobia and racism.

They ended up scrapping the idea, Aniz said. “There's ways of trying to address that kind of hate and rhetoric head on, but that's not what we're trying to do.”

“For us, the most constructive and fundamental way to approach that problem through the show is to just show Muslim people on TV being normal people,” he said.

Plus, many viewers are aware of the wider context without having to spell it out, Aniz said.

“We know (some) people hate Muslim people,” he added. What the show is trying to address is “this is all universal. We all share these experiences. That's so much more a powerful, important message than rehashing this hate.”