Historically dominant themes in Arabic scripted content including secrets, betrayal, & mystery have declined giving way to more complex and resonant narratives.
According to a new report by Rise Studios, family secrets, misadventures, hidden pasts, and personal growth were the fastest-growing themes and topics in Arabic movies and series this year.
The AI-powered report titled ‘Exploring emerging themes and topics in MENA’s streaming landscape’ delves into Arabic content trends and how these have evolved over the past 12 months. Its finding reflect the region’s evolving societal dynamics where traditional values are often challenged by modern realities.
Traditionally, genres and subgenres have been the standard framework for categorising content. However, this is fast becoming outdated with technology enabling the analysis of themes (central message) and topics (subject matter), presenting a more precise alternative. The new Rise Studios report goes beyond genres, and explores the thematic and topical trends shaping contemporary content across 12 streaming platforms.
The report reveals that the historically dominant themes in Arabic scripted content including secrets, betrayal, relationships, and mystery have plateaued or declined, with intrigue being the exception, rising by 9% the past 12 months across MENA production territories. This has made way for more complex and resonant narratives. Content reflecting hidden pasts saw the largest growth Y-o-Y increase (73%), followed by family secrets (68%), misadventures (68%), and personal growth (67%).
Discussing the trend, Amanda Turnbull, Rise Studios Founder and Chief Executive Officer, said: “The stalling of previously popular themes can partly be attributed to the law of diminishing returns. However, a more compelling factor is the surge in investment over the past three years, alongside the influx of young, up-and-coming creatives across the MENA region. These new voices are eager to break from tradition, exploring fresh, often edgier themes that resonate with younger audiences, allowing viewers to engage with stories that mirror their own experiences of cultural shifts, identity, and transformation.”
Driven by MENA’s younger generation’s exposure to global content and changing socio-political circumstances combined with an influx of up and coming young Arab writers, directors and creatives, the report notes a rapid change in storytelling in the Arab world.
The demand for complex, layered storytelling – particularly around themes such as hidden pasts, personal growth, misadventures, family secrets, culture clashes, and family dynamics in Arabic series – is rapidly increasing, primarily driven by Egyptian and Levantine productions.
Although there is significant overlap in the most common themes and topics used in movies and series
produced in Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Levant, some notable differences have emerged too. Egypt leads in themes of relationships, family, and love as well as with themes like betrayal and secrets, with the Levant not far behind in these areas. In contrast, family dynamics and culture clash are growing themes for KSA-based producers. Further, Levantine productions over-index in themes like secrets, betrayal, and intrigue which is indicative of a strong focus on ‘Good vs Evil’ and ‘Overcoming Adversity’ storylines.
The ‘Good vs Evil’ theme remains prominent in Egyptian films and series. At the same time, themes of ‘Identity & Values’, such as small-town life, enigmatic characters, and traditional values, are gaining popularity by exploring the tension between modernity and cultural heritage. This blend of familiar moral struggles with evolving societal dynamics engages audiences by reflecting both the preservation of tradition and the adaptation to change, making these storylines relevant in today’s context.
Recent productions coming out of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia show a wide blend of themes and
topics that are growing at a fast pace: Family dynamic (192%), culture clash (190%), humour (170%), small town (133%) and investigative (125%). These are being driven by the local government’s recent push in facilitating a fast growing local media & entertainment industry.
Lebanese and Syrian series and films have demonstrated growing popularity of mystery, suspense, and small-town themes over the past two years. This stem from several factors including global streaming influences introducing international thriller genres, and the cultural resonance of secrets and hidden truths. Small-town settings amplify tension, reflecting societal pressures and moral ambiguity. Younger,
evolving audiences prefer fast-paced, intellectually engaging stories with twists and suspense.
In Levantine movies and series, mystery and suspense are becoming increasingly prominent themes,
often woven into stories dealing with societal, political, and personal conflicts. Moreover, the supernatural theme is emerging fast in Levantine productions with 2023’s Awake by Nadia Tabbara and Al Ghareeb (a Lebanese/Moroccan co-production) produced by Sophie Boutros as prime examples.
Arabic and international scripted content share a significant overlap in their top 15 themes,
indicating a degree of commonality in storytelling preferences. However, a notable distinction lies in the concentration of these shared themes. Arabic content exhibits a higher concentration of these common themes, suggesting a more pronounced focus on certain narratives compared to international counterparts. Themes like family dynamics, tradition & traditional values remain popular and growing in Arabic productions, while at the same time, specifically in North American and European movies and series, these themes have diminished in prominence.
The research was conducted in partnership with Vynd – a company that provides artificial intelligence (AI) enhanced insights for the entertainment industry. Commenting on the report, Maarten Kranendonk, Vynd Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer said: “With the rapid advances in technologies such as AI and large language models (LLM), we can dive deeper into the core of the content and draw out valuable data and insight. This supports companies like Rise Studios – who rely on data to give audiences what they want – to shape the future of content in the region.”
