One of the best things about entering a new year is being greeted by a fresh crop of TV and movie offerings to add to our watch-list. From Kuwait’s first-ever production based on the true events of two women making their way into the boys club of the Kuwait Stock Exchange to the Arabic adaptation of Turkey’s Bin Bir Gece starring Razane Jammal, read on for five new Arabic shows worth canceling all your plans for.
‘Al Thaman’
Lebanese-American actress Razane Jammal, who made waves for her role in the Netflix series The Sandman last year, features in the Arabic show Al Thaman alongside Syrian actor Bassel Khaiat, which is available to watch on Shahid VIP and MBC 1. Adapted from the 2006 Turkish series Binbir Gece, the show is about a mother trying to raise funds for her child’s cancer treatment who receives a life-changing offer from her boss who agrees to give her the money needed for the treatment on the condition that she spends a night with him.
‘The Exchange’
Set in Kuwait in the 1980s, the six-episode series follows a unique story about two trailblazing women who disrupt the corrupt boys club of Kuwait’s banking industry in the late 1980s. The workplace drama is created and written by Nadia Ahmad, Anne Sobel and Adam Sobel and directed by Karim Elshenawy and Jasem AlMuhanna and will begin streaming on Netflix on Feb. 8, 2023.
‘Finding Ola’ (Season Two)
Last March, Hend Sabry delighted fans by revealing that there will in fact be a second season of Finding Ola, and now its been announced that the Arabic comedy will be coming back to Netflix in February. The series, which follows Ola (played by Sabry), a recently divorced mother-of-two as she navigates her new life, received international acclaim and went on to become one of the streaming platform’s most-watched series of 2022.
‘Awdat Khalati’
The Shahid original, which launched on MBC earlier this year, follows Hamida, who after dedicating her life to building a fashion empire must learn to navigate a new world to save her sister’s children.
‘Scattered Barriers’
The first Omani show to be streamed on Netflix will launch this month on the streaming platform. Although the six-episode series is set in Oman, it was shot in the UAE, in Al Ain. It tells the story of a taxi driver named Nasser, who refuses to accept the danger of Covid-19 until the virus claims the life of his mother.
