diff --git a/yt_dlp/downloader/common.py b/yt_dlp/downloader/common.py
index 10f27d4b27..e8dcb37cc3 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/downloader/common.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/downloader/common.py
@@ -487,9 +487,7 @@ class FileDownloader:
         if not self.params.get('verbose', False):
             return
 
-        str_args = list(args)
-
         if exe is None:
-            exe = os.path.basename(str_args[0])
+            exe = os.path.basename(args[0])
 
-        self.write_debug(f'{exe} command line: {shell_quote(str_args)}')
+        self.write_debug(f'{exe} command line: {shell_quote(args)}')