Netflix’s first Kuwaiti project will be a dramedy following the highs and lows of marital life.
The series, titled The Cage, will be released on the streaming platform on September 23. The show features several popular Kuwaiti talents including Khaled Ameen, Hussain AlMahdi, Rawan Mahdi, Lamya Tareq and Hessah Al-Nabhan.
Ameen portrays a social counsellor who is working with a married couple — played by AlMahdi and Mahdi — to help them better communicate and empathise with each other in an effort to save their marriage. However, as the counsellor helps them rekindle their relationship, he faces struggles in his own personal life as well.
The eight-episode show will trace the evolution of their relationships across a decade. With its light-hearted tone, the series aims to offer a fresh take on how marital challenges are portrayed in Arab drama.
The Cage is produced by Abdullah Boushahri, who is known for Europa and Al Namous. It is directed by Jasem Al-Muhanna, the filmmaker behind Alnamous, a Kuwaiti show set in the 1970s that revolves around the mysterious disappearance of a wealthy businessman and patriarch.
This project is only the beginning of Netflix’s ambitions in Kuwait. The streaming platform has announced it is working on another project set in the Gulf country. However, though it promises to star several high-profile talents and will be full of “exciting twists and turns”, Netflix is being tight-lipped about what the show, or film, will be about.
Netflix has been behind a number of Arabic Original series, starting with 2019's Jinn, which was directed by Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya and Amin Matalqa, and AlRawabi School for Girls, directed by Tima Shomali, which was a hit when it came out in 2021.
Over the past two years, the streaming platform has also increased its library of Arabic films, creating collections to promote award-winning features and shorts.
Earlier this year, it released an Arabic remake of Perfect Strangers, starring Lebanese director and actress Nadine Labaki, Egyptian star Mona Zaki, Eyad Nassar, as well as Georges Khabbaz, Adel Karam, Fouad Yammine and Diamand Bou Abboud.
'Mo', a landmark Netflix series filled with humour and authenticity — in pictures
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Palestinian-American comedian Mo Amer stars in 'Mo', now available on Netflix. All photos: Netflix -
Mo Amer plays Mo, a Palestinian-American who is fired from his job at a tech shop because his boss worried that the business will be the target of immigration authorities. -
Mo, a charismatic and charming guy, decides to sell counterfeit products from the boot of his car in order to provide for his family. -
From left, Mo's mother Yusra, played by Farah Bsieso, Mo's elder brother Sameer played by Omar Elba, and Mo Amer who stars as Mo. -
The Najir family in 'Mo' were forced to flee Palestine in the 1940s and were displaced again in the 1990s during the Gulf War and left Kuwait for Houston, where they have lived awaiting for their asylum claim to be heard in court for 22 years. -
Mo's older brother Sameer, played by Omar Elba, is on the autism spectrum. -
Mo and his Catholic Mexican girlfriend Maria, played by Teresa Ruiz. -
Maria is an intricate part of Mo's support system. She's a capable business owner who suffers from her own family trauma and is eager to impress Mo's mother who would prefer that Mo date a Muslim woman. -
Intergenerational and cross-cultural humour are woven into the serious themes of displacement and identity that Mo grapples with in his day-to-day life. -
Mo bonds with Mexican workers in an olive grove in Houston, Texas, another place he attempts to work in without legal documentation. -
Mo tells a saleswoman selling chocolate hummus to taste olive oil from Palestine. -
Palestine and politics are debated in shisha-smoking cafes over a game of backgammon or cards, in 'Mo'.
