Netflix has announced a second season of AlRawabi School for Girls.
The Arabic Original became a regional hit when it was released on the streaming platform in August 2021. The series is set in a fictional girls' school and traces the oscillating highs and lows of adolescence. Its honest portrayal of contemporary issues, from bullying to social alienation, doesn’t linger on the perspective of one character for too long, instead offering a kaleidoscopic vision of the experiences unfolding at the upscale school.
Netflix creatively announced the show's renewal with a letter issued by the AlRawabi School for Girls Administration to its student body ahead of the school year. It has yet to set a release date.
“We look forward to welcoming you back to AlRawabi School for Girls,” the letter reads. “When we return, we promise a fresh and exciting perspective, and urge you to bring renewed energy to the year ahead.”
A video was also posted showing aerial shots of a yellow school bus heading towards campus, which ends as the vehicle drives through the gates.
Tima Shomali and Shirin Kamal will return to the series as creators and executive producers, in collaboration with writer and executive producer Islam Alshomali. Shomali will also reprise her role as the show’s director.
“I wanted to do a project that talks about women’s stories from the perspective of women for a long while. And I wanted to do it with a team of women,” Shomali told The National in an interview following the show’s release.
“So, as we started writing a high-school drama, it became obvious that this was the project I was waiting for.
“One of the great things that Tima and Shirin did in the show was break the mould of the two-dimensional female character,” Ahmed Sharkawi, director of Arabic Original Series at Netflix, said in an interview with The National last year. “None of the characters are fully evil, nor are they fully good. So this kind of shifting perception is very enriching.”
Sharkawi said the streaming service was aware that some who watch the show might be going through experiences similar to its characters. That is why each episode ends by directing viewers to an online bullying information resource, wannatalkaboutit.com.
“It’s a Netflix site that provides mental health resources for topics such as bullying,” he says. “We know the show touches on some sensitive subjects, but we welcome that because it creates some kind of dialogue.”
