House of Saddam

Season

2008

7.4

TV-MA

A mini-series that explores the inner workings of Saddam Hussein's family and his relationship with his closest advisors.

Episode List

S1 • E1

Episode #1.1

Saddam, frustrated step-son of a sadistic peasant, was the deputy of the Iraqi president, number two in a revolutionary regime that modernized the former British-protected kingdom. When his faction of the ruling Baath Party opposes the president's plan for a union with neighbor Syria, Saddam is able to seize power.

S1 • E2

Episode #1.2

1988. Though Iraq is on the brink of bankruptcy, Baghdad is jubilant in victory after the war with Iran. Uday celebrates in a nightclub by getting drunk and firing a gun into the crowd. As Kuwait's upsurge in oil output challenges Iraqi prosperity, a family lunch reveals fractures in Saddam's household.

S1 • E3

Episode #1.3

May 1995. Iraq is crippled by UN sanctions for refusing to comply with weapons inspections. When inspectors are finally admitted, a cat-and-mouse game begins. In charge of the subterfuge is Qusay, Saddam's new successor--a move that infuriates Hussein Kamal.

S1 • E4

Episode #1.4

March 2003. As Bush declares 'the day of liberation is near,' Saddam instructs most of his family to flee to Syria; only Uday, Qusay and grandson Mustapha remain. For his safety, Saddam goes into hiding near Tikrit, off the banks of the Tigris River where he lived as a child.