Art & Culture

A Fake Kidnapping, a Real Hit: Inside Netflix’s New Saudi Comedy ‘The Fakenapping’

BYMille Team

December 16, 2025

When was the last time a comedy about a son kidnapping his own father felt like the most honest snapshot of adulthood in 2025? With its chaotic premise and merciless spiral of bad decisions, Netflix’s Saudi original The Fakenapping refuses to play it safe, and in doing so points to a striking evolution in regional storytelling.

Released globally on Netflix on December 11, 2025, The Fakenapping, directed by Amine Lakhnech, quickly shot to #1 in Saudi Arabia’s Netflix film rankings. The film, produced by Riyadh’s influential Telfaz11 (a studio that rose from YouTube sketches to international streaming deals), tells the story of Sattam, played with lovable desperation by Mohammed AlDokhei, a struggling father and serial entrepreneur whose life is a string of half-baked ideas and deepening debts. When the easy answers vanish, Sattam concocts the kind of plan that only fiction could lovingly endorse: staging a fake kidnapping of his own father to ransom off his family wealth— only to discover chaos expands faster than his schemes.

Mohammed AlDokhei.

A “comedy of errors,” where a mounting chain of bad decisions and unforeseen consequences become the engine of laughs, the film wedges itself in that rich comedic territory where flawed intentions collide with absurd outcomes. It’s reminiscent of indie capers that celebrate messy lives. The characters don’t evolve through hard lessons, they trip into them.

It’s the film’s way of refracting contemporary anxieties about financial precarity, ambition, and family expectations, themes that feel especially resonant in a generation balancing tradition and modern pressures. Bad plans become metaphors for real insecurity: what do you do when the system feels stacked against you, yet pride won’t let you quit? The Fakenapping doesn’t lecture, but laughs with you at your own wild impulses.

That tension between local specificity and universal relatability is the movie’s real strength. While the setting and character dynamics are deeply rooted in Saudi social textures — from familial hierarchy to communal reputation — the core story about a well-meaning but flawed protagonist is universally recognizable. That blend is likely why the film has already sparked stronger attention than many regional comedies before it.

Mohammed AlDokhei.

The tone is brisk and lean. With a runtime just over an hour, the narrative rarely slows. The banter among Sattam and his equally bewildered cohort is central to the laughs, and a cameo from Saudi football icon Saeed Al-Owairan adds an almost meta wink for local audiences.

And then there’s AlDokhei himself. Played with a kind of ragged charm that makes you root for Sattam even when you shouldn’t, his performance anchors the film’s tonal balance. He carries the awkwardness of miscalculation with sincerity, reminding us that comedy’s greatest power is empathy, even for people making the worst decisions possible.

In the bigger picture, The Fakenapping is more than a weekend watch. As Saudi cinema increasingly finds its voice on global platforms like Netflix, comedies like this one suggest that local stories don’t need to be “universalized” to resonate, they simply need to be authentically human. The result is a film that makes you laugh at the absurdity of its premise and then, quietly, at the absurdity of life itself.

We caught up with AlDokhei in Riyadh to talk about embodying Sattam, what it means to see a Saudi film reach a global audience, and his pre-scene rituals. Read the full Q&A below.

Mohammed AlDokhei.

How does it feel to know that a Saudi film you’re in will be seen on a global platform like Netflix?

Mohammed AlDokhei: Honestly, it’s the best feeling because I’m used to [being on Netflix]. I’m sorry, but it’s a really great feeling to be on a global platform and for something Saudi to go global.

Did you draw inspiration from anyone in real life for this character?

MA: I actually know someone who’s quite similar to Sattam. They’re two people, whose father is close to Sattam’s father. He’s a bit stingy, and the sons are actually a bit like Sattam too. So I took fifty percent from this one, and fifty percent from that one, and that’s how Sattam came together.

Without giving too much away, how would you describe this film in three words?

MA: Chaos, epic, and mind-blowing.

Do you have any pre-scene rituals or routines to get into character?

MA: My coffee pot. It’s the most important thing; it comes before Sattam and Mohammed. I always have it with me, and I offer coffee to everyone around.

Mohammed AlDokhei.

If Sattam had a theme song what would it be?

MA: It’s a song by Mohammed Abdu. The lyrics say something like, ‘My whole life has been patience and endurance, while others live a life of happiness.’

How would you describe Sattam’s persona?

MA: First off, he’s super energetic and messy. His projects never work out, he keeps redoing them, and he’s always borrowing stuff.

Which co-star made you laugh the most?

MA: The legendary footballer and world-class actor, Saeed Al-Owairan.

When the film drops on Netflix, who are you most excited to watch it with?

MA: Honestly, I want to watch it with my family. With my nieces and nephews, my siblings, and kids.

A Fake Kidnapping, a Real Hit: Inside Netflix’s New Saudi Comedy ‘The Fakenapping’

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A Fake Kidnapping, a Real Hit: Inside Netflix’s New Saudi Comedy ‘The Fakenapping’

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