KUALA LUMPUR: Veteran comedy troupe Senario plans to have a television reunion special and is waiting for offers from television stations.
The group formed after the talent search Sinaran Pasport Kegemilangan in 1996 has had nine members to date namely Azlee Jaafar, Mazlan Ahmad, Wahid Mohamad, the late Hamdan Ramli, Ilya Buang, Shamsul Ghau Ghau, Farouk Hussain, Saiful Apek and Yassin Yahya.
Senario, which has starred in 11 comedy films beginning with Senario The Movie in 1999 and has released six studio albums since 1997, has also appeared in its own sitcom on TV3 from 1996 to 2013.
The group's founding member Azlee said in a Berita Harian report yesterday that they had taken a back seat with the mushrooming of new comedy talents especially after the Raja Lawak and Maharaja Lawak comedy searches in the last two decades.
"Despite this, we have not been left out, since we have judged and mentored many of these talents. In fact many of them look up to us as their 'sifus'," he said.
"And from time to time Senario does get invites to perform sketches at corporate events and fans who grew up in the 1990s still flock to greet us."
Azlee also said that Senario was optimistic that television stations would invite them to recreate their past "magic" for viewers.
"It does not matter which TV station produces it. What is important is, we want to do it for our fans, since many of them have urged us to reunite on the small screen."
As for the Senario comedy series, Azlee said that each Senario member had his own projects and it was not easy for them to perform sketches in television studios weekly.
"We've now attained veteran status, so it's better that we take a back seat and let the younger generation of funnymen shine."
When asked about Senario's members and former members who had expressed a willingness to participate in the reunion, Azlee said that all of them apart from Farouk and Shamsul had said 'yes'.
"As for the late Hamdan, his son will be replacing him, as he has inherited his father's comedic talent, too."
Senario's original members were Azlee, Mazlan, Wahid, Hamdan, Ilya, Farouk and Shamsul.
However, Farouk, Shamsul, Hamdan and Ilya left after two years and were replaced by Saiful and Yassin.
Saiful and Yassin left Senario in 2002 but rejoined with Hamdan and Ilya in 2016.
Hamdan died of a heart ailment at age 55 at the Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor Baru on Jan 5.
Saiful and Yassin participated in reality talent show Gegar Vaganza 8 in 2022.
