Hend Sabry to star in a new 'female-focused' Arabic drama on Netflix

The still untitled production will also be executive produced by the Tunisian actress

Hend Sabri will appear in a new drama on Netlix. Bilo Hussein

The latest Arabic production on Netflix will both star and be created by Tunisian superstar Hend Sabry.

The film and television actress has teamed up with the online streaming giant to appear in a new “female-focused” original series.

Sabry will also executive produce the project under her company Salam Production.

The actress said she would lead a strong cast of women in the still untitled series.

“I am excited to work on a female-focused show with Netflix,” she said. “I am also thrilled about my first experience as an executive producer, and how with Netflix we can create content that features stories from the Arab world to be seen by the world.”

The news was also celebrated by Netflix director of Arabic Original series Ahmed Sharkawi.

“We are excited to work with Hend Sabry, one of the Arab world’s most iconic actresses, who has won the hearts of Arab audiences throughout her career,” he said. “Sabry’s new show is a female-focused story that we are sure fans will connect with.”

The deal is a coup for Netflix as Sabry is easily the biggest regional star to work with the platform to date.

Over the past three years, the company has been steadily building its Arabic content, which at the moment is limited to one original production, the Jordanian drama Jinn, and a host of acquired shows such as the Emirati legal drama Justice, the Lebanese crime saga Al Hayba and the series on terrorism Black Crows.

Sabry's series will release after Netflix's upcoming second original Arabic production Al Rawabi School for Girls. Written and directed by Jordanian director, writer and actress Tima Shomali, the show, which has been produced in collaboration with Jordanian media company Filmizion, tells the story of a girl who gets revenge on her bullies, only to find out that no one is all that bad in the first place.

Arabic picks on Netflix

Jinn

The first original Arabic production by Netflix. The supernatural thriller follows a group of teenagers who accidentally while on a school trip to Petra unleash spirits intent on bringing havoc to the world.

Justice

After airing on Abu Dhabi TV, Netflix picked up the 23-part legal procedural drama, produced by Image Nation Abu Dhabi last year. Filmed in the capital, the plot focuses on the lives of a father and daughter who compete as lawyers and offers insight into the UAE justice system. The storylines are based on real cases from the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, which partnered on the production to ensure authenticity.

Al Hayba

Netflix is presently only streaming the first season of this Lebanese-Syrian series. This is a good thing, as the crime drama has never topped the brilliance of its debut season. Syrian star Taim Hasan plays Jabal, a complicated figure managing a family crime syndicate, while finding love too.

Black Crows

Originally aired in Ramadan of 2017, the MBC production made international headlines due to its daring plot. Black Crows looks at the threat of the terror group ISIS through the eyes of its female recruits.