With a furrowed brow and wagging finger, Dawood Shirian for years skewered top officials on Saudi television, but now the firebrand host is taking over the country's state broadcaster.
Deploying a pull-no-punches style, Shirian spent nearly six years as the host of "Al Thamina" (Eight O'Clock) on satellite broadcaster MBC.
Shirian - nicknamed "matchstick" for his combustible personality - was allowed to champion issues of public discontent, from joblessness to extremism.
His career took on a new trajectory on Monday with his appointment as the head of the Saudi Broadcasting Corporation, as his legions of admirers called for his return to Al Thamina.
The primetime show garnered an avid following with its host's hard-hitting style of demanding accountability from officials, often berating them and sometimes chivvying them into action.
In a recent episode, Shirian, 63, fumed over rising unemployment among Saudi engineers, airing testimonies from some with the highest grades forced to work as waiters, car washers and fish sellers.
"Does the job market have no place for Saudi engineers?" Shirian asked angrily, waving printouts from a government jobs website.
"Where are the authorities?" he demanded.
Within minutes, the hashtag "Saudi engineers treated unfairly" started gaining traction on social media. Behind the scenes, the show's producers were inundated with hundreds of WhatsApp messages pouring in from people venting fury.
A labour ministry official sought to explain on the show that policy reforms were in the works to create jobs.
"When?" Shirian interjected with a scowl. "The people are getting angry."