write that Hawass is unlikeable and that the show is not an authentic documentary series. Summarizing the show, New York Times columnist Neil Genzlinger writes, "[O]ne hopes that this show will, like some of those ancient pharaohs, die young, or that Dr. Hawass will unearth some ancient Egyptian chill pills and swallow a generous helping." He said that a segment showing an intern locked in a pyramid did not seem genuine, and that the show is "intent on forcing drama into the proceedings in a way that seems artificial." According to Genzlinger, due to the comedic nature of many of the interactions depicted, it is not hard to speculate that Dr. Hawass, the producer, and cast are filming what turns out to be a running inside joke between themselves. TVGA describes the show as "a reality series in the tradition of Bravo's Flipping Out. Like egomaniacal but essentially harmless blowhard Jeff Lewis, Zahi Hawass...is set up to be the comically abusive centerpiece of the show." Referring to an "intern" on the show, TVGA said, "If Zoe's not an actress and this show [is] not severely engineered / scripted, I'd both be surprised and deeply curious about how the hell Chasing Mummies could look this level of manipulated and artificial." The Egyptian daily Almasry Alyoum called that incident a "rather obvious bit of staged drama," and said that Hawass "is shown berating underlings in both English and Arabic, talking about himself in the third person and generally acting like a bit of a cartoon." The newspaper said Chasing Mummies "often verges on self-parody." Episodes References External links Zahi Hawass' website Zoe D'Amato's website 2010 American television series debuts 2010s American reality television series 2010 American television series endings Archaeology of Egypt Egyptology History (American TV channel) original programming