First Look at 'Finding Ola', Netflix’s latest Arabic series

Netflix has released a series of images offering a first look at its upcoming Hend Sabry project, which marks the Egyptian-Tunisian star’s return to one of her famous characters for the first time in 10 years.

Entitled Finding Ola, the Arabic series will continue the adventures of young pharmacist Ola Abdel Sabour after she first appeared in the 2010 comedy-drama Ayza Atgawez (I Want to Get Married).

The original series followed Ola as she goes through a handful of prospective fiances in a bid to get married before she turns 30.

Joining Sabry is renowned actress Sawsan Badr, who will take up the role of Ola’s mother, Suhair, and Hani Adel, who will star as Ola’s husband Hisham. All Photos: Netflix

The Netflix series, which was announced earlier this year, will feature many of the elements that made the original show a hit. It will revolve around Ola’s attempts at reinventing herself, juggling her career as a pharmacist and her attempts at finding love. A release date has yet to be announced.

“Ola may be older and wiser, but she is still exploring who she is as a woman while trying to find the balance between her role as a mother, wife and entrepreneur,” says Netflix. “An inspirational story of self-discovery and new beginnings, the six-episode series will follow Ola as she navigates life’s many challenges.”

Joining Sabry is another renowned Egyptian actress Sawsan Badr, who will take up the role of Ola’s mother, Suhair, and Hany Adel, who will star as Ola’s husband Hisham. From Japan to Egypt star Nada Moussa, Maktoub actress Dalia Shawky and It's Okay, Buddy actor Mahmoud Ellithy have also joined the cast.

The show, directed by Hadi El-Bagoury, will also feature numerous cameos by Arab talents, including Kingdoms of Fire star Khaled El Nabawy.

The characters in the series are inspired by writer Ghada Abdel Aal, who penned the original show.

Sabry is also billed as an executive producer on the show, through her company Salam Productions, in co-operation with Partner Pro and executive producer Amin El Masri.

Finding Ola is the latest Netflix Original effort to come out of the Arab world. The streaming platform released its critically-acclaimed AlRawabi School for Girls in August, launched a new season of the hit Saudi show Takki earlier this month and just put out its first Arabic reality series The Fastest.

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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?

The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.

Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.

New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.

“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.

The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.

The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.

Bloomberg