A Dangerous Dynasty: House of Assad

Episode one follows Bashar and Asma's journey to become president and first lady of Syria against the backdrop of a troubled and suspicious family. Bashar's father Hafez, an old-fashioned Middle East dictator who saw off six US presidents, had Bashar's older brother in mind as the next president. When he died in a car accident, a completely unprepared Bashar was the next in line for the job.

In episode two Bashar Assad is now president of Syria. His glamorous wife Asma is now first lady. Both are faced with a number of problems. Asma's in laws don't like the idea of her being first lady and want to keep her out of the limelight. An angry president of the United States names Syria as part of the axis of evil and the United Nations issue resolutions that Bashar's family want him to ignore. The Assads soon find themselves at the centre of a murder investigation, as one of their political enemies is blown up in a car bomb. With rare footage of Bashar and Asma, this episode takes us from the opening of their opera house in Damascus to the massacre of prisoners in Syria's biggest jail.

In the third and final episode, the Syrian president must decide how to act as Arab Spring protests reach Syria's streets. As stated by one of the many experts interviewed for the documentary: “How does this mild mannered eye doctor end up killing hundreds of thousands of people?”