The upcoming Arab films and series include Telfaz11 feature ‘Alkhallat+’, reality show ‘Dubai Bling’, and psychological thriller 'The Matchmaker', among others.
Netflix has announced a lineup of upcoming content from the Arab world, including shows and films from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Jordan, and Egypt.
The projects are part of Netflix’s push into Arabic content as it invests in more Arab storytellers to tell stories that can be loved globally. So far, Netflix has worked with new and established voices to tell more authentic stories that carry broad appeal, and take big creative swings with several formats, new in the Arab world.
Netflix previewed a diverse range of Arabic content from a melodramatic unscripted show to an animated comedy series, a youth-centred film, a psychological thriller, and a historical drama through exclusive promo reels and first-look images. These include Dubai Bling (UAE), The Exchange (Kuwait), Alkhallat+ (KSA), The Matchmaker (KSA), and Masameer County Season 2 (KSA).
An eight-episode Arabic docu-soap Dubai Bling is set to launch globally on October 27 this year.
Set in Kuwait in 1988, The Exchange revolves around two women making their way in the boys club of the Kuwait Stock Exchange, on the eve of Saddam Hussein’s invasion of the country. The drama was conceived and written by celebrity TV presenter, actress and activist Nadia Ahmad, with Anne and Adam Sobel, and is directed by Egyptian director Karim Elshenawy and Kuwaiti filmmaker Jasem AlMuhanna.
Alkhallat+ is a satirical suspense film based on Telfaz11’s digital show Alkhallat, which first released in 2017 and received more than 1.5bn views across YouTube and social media. The film is directed by Fahad Alammari, and stars Aziz Alshehri, Mohamed Aldokhie, Ibraheem Alkhairallah, Ibraheem Alhajjaj, Fahad Albutairi, Suhaib Godus, Ziyad Alamri, and Ismail Alhassan. The film is expected to launch next year.
The Matchmaker is a psychological thriller with a supernatural slant set in Al Ula, covering universal themes like disloyalty and morality. The film will launch in early 2023 and stars Hussam Alharthy, Reem AlHabib, and Nour Alkhadra and is directed by Abdulmohsen Aldhabaan.
The slate also features the second season of animated Masameer County, a youth-focused show chronicling the rapidly changing face of Saudi Arabia and tackling formerly taboo subjects with humour.
Netflix also announced a slew of global productions, including a new season of Emily in Paris and the fantasy adventure film Slumberland, starring Jason Momoa. In addition, Netflix also talked about local talents such as Khaled Abdulla, Ahmed Malek, and Kinda Alloush starring in Netflix’s global productions like The Crown and The Swimmers.
These new shows follow in the wake of Saudi director Hana Al Omair’s psychological thriller Whispers, Jordanian high-school drama Al Rawabi School for Girls, and Finding Ola, starring Tunisian-Egyptian star Hend Sabry as a newly divorced single mother as she embarks on a voyage of personal discovery.
Non-fiction hits in the region have included the Arabic unscripted reality show The Fastest, and the archaeological documentary, Secrets Of The Saqqara Tomb which was viewed by 22m households in its first week of launch
Apart from Netflix productions, there have also been some iconic films from different parts of the Arab world that have been given a home on Netflix through collections like Celebrating Arab Cinema, Palestinian Stories, Because She Created, and New Saudi Voices.
