Table of Contents
Ramy Youssef co-created and executive produced the comedy series based on Amer’s life as a Palestinian refugee growing up in Texas.
Netflix has released the official trailer for “Mo,” the upcoming A24-produced comedy series from executive producers and creators Mohammed “Mo” Amer and Ramy Youssef. The series reunites Youssef with A24 following his Emmy-nominated work on the Hulu series Ramy, and brings the comedy creator to Netflix for the first time. The series, which will be released on the streaming platform on August 24, is based on Amer’s own experiences as a Palestinian refugee growing up in Texas.
In “Mo,” Mo Najjar (Amer) bridges the gap between two cultures, three languages, and a ton of BS as a Palestinian refugee, perpetually one step away from asylum and living on the road to US citizenship. His family – including his resilient and spiritual mother, sister and older brother – flee to Houston, Texas. Mo laughs at the pain and learns to adjust to his new world, although moving forward in life comes with some setbacks.
Teresa Ruiz plays Mo’s girlfriend, Maria, with Farah Bsieso as Mo’s mother, Yusra Najjar. Omar Elba portrays Sameer Najjar, Mo’s older brother with social anxiety, and Tobe Nwigwe is Nick, Mo’s oldest, most loyal and cunning friend.
The series is also co-directed by Ravi Nandan and Hallie Sekoff for A24, Harris Danow (“Little Fires Everywhere”, “Daisy Jones & The Six”), Luvh Rakhe (“Dave”, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) and series director Solvan ” Slick” Naim (“It’s Bruno!”, “Snowfall”).
Youssef previously told IndieWire that he approaches television with a “short film feel” to focus on one character at a time to incorporate multiple storylines. Natch, “Mo” is a 30-minute comedy series in the vein of “Ramy” that spans its two seasons across multiple characters alongside Youssef’s own. (The series was renewed for a third season in 2020, but hasn’t seen any movement in production.)
“We don’t want to do the TV thing where every episode is an A-story, B-story, C-story, where things feel really stuffed and it feels like nothing is really getting its air and it feels like it’s not very formulaic,” Youssef said.
Youssef will next be seen in Poor Things, director Yorgos Lanthimos’ Frankenstein update, alongside Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley.
Registration: Stay up to date on the latest movie and TV news! Sign up for our email newsletter here.