Ya Bint is the New Arab-American Series to Know

Could this be the female ‘Ramy’?

After decades of being typecast as terrorists and belly dancers, Arabs are finally taking over Hollywood, and for the right reasons. After Ramy’s huge sweep of Emmy-nominations, more good news has followed. A new Arab series, entitled ‘Ya Bint’ is coming.

The show will air on Disney-owned cable network Freeform, and is said to focus on a group of young women who moved from the Middle East to Los Angeles, with a focus on their struggles with cultural differences.

Wondering who’s behind it all? It’s Saudi actress Dina Shihabi who penned it along with Sundance veteran filmmaker Rolla Selback. The series will be executive produced by Moroccan-born director and producer Sanaa Hamri—whose production credits include ‘Empire’, ‘Glee’, ‘Elementary’, ‘90210’, and ‘The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants’ just to name a few. Hamri will share executive production credits with ‘Empire’ co-creator Danny Strong.

And just like Ramy Youssef, Shihabi not only wrote the show, but will also take on a role in front of the camera as one of its leading characters, who are said to be named Maya, Jumana, and Lara.

“So excited to finally share this news!! I love every second of creating this show with my soul sister @rollaselbak and this absolute DREAM team of collaborators” wrote Shihabi on instagram to make the announcement.

The writer and actress made a name for herself in Hollywood with acting credits in major productions such as Netflix’s ‘Altered Carbon’ and in  ‘Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan’. And if you’re a fan of ‘Ramy’, the 31-year-old also starred as Nour in the award winning first season. Needless to say, she’s got what it takes—and we can’t wait.

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