Ramy (TV series)
Ramy | |
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Genre | Comedy-drama |
Created by |
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Starring |
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Opening theme | "Lounga 79" by Al Massrieen |
Composers |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original languages | English Arabic |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 20 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers |
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Cinematography |
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Editors |
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Running time | 23–31 minutes |
Production companies | A24 Cairo Cowboy Foxera |
Original release | |
Network | Hulu |
Release | April 19, 2019 present | –
Ramy is an American comedy-drama web television series which premiered on April 19, 2019 on Hulu. In May 2019, Hulu renewed the series for a second season which premiered on May 29, 2020.[1][2] The series stars Ramy Youssef as the titular character with Mahershala Ali joining the cast in a recurring role for season 2. The series has been praised for its portrayal of American Muslims when most Western pop culture depictions are "usually as the bad guys".[3]
Premise
Ramy follows "a first-generation American Muslim who is on a spiritual journey in his politically divided New Jersey neighborhood. It explores the challenges of what it is like being caught between an Egyptian community that thinks life is a moral test, and a generation that thinks life has no consequences."[4]
Cast and characters
Main
- Ramy Youssef as Ramy Hassan, the protagonist of the series. He is a millennial American Muslim who grapples with his faith and lifestyle, to judgment of his friends and family.
- Mohammed Amer as Mo, Ramy's friend who owns a food eatery.
- Hiam Abbass as Maysa Hassan, Ramy's mother.
- Dave Merheje as Ahmed, Ramy's friend and a doctor.
- Amr Waked as Farouk Hassan, Ramy's father.
- May Calamawy as Dena Hassan, the sister of Ramy. Although she is a graduate student, Dena is frustrated that her actions and behavior are still restricted by her overprotective parents. This causes her to regularly critique the double standards she and Ramy are judged against.
- Laith Nakli as Uncle Naseem, the boisterous uncle of Ramy and Dena. He owns a jewelry business, where he employs Ramy after his firing from a startup. He casually makes sexist and anti-Semitic statements, despite working with Jewish jewelers. Naseem is very protective of his family, especially of his sister Maysa. (recurring season 1; main season 2)
Recurring
- Steve Way as Steve, longtime friend and coworker of Ramy. They become acquainted after the September 11th attacks, when Ramy is alienated due to his Muslim faith (season 1 & 2)[5]
- Rosaline Elbay as Amani, Ramy's cousin (season 1 & 2)[6]
- Shadi Alfons as Shadi (season 1 & 2)
- Kate Miller as Vivian
- Michael Chernus as Michael
- Jade Eshete as Fatima
- Poorna Jagannathan as Salma (season 1)
- Molly Gordon as Sarah (season 1)
- Mahershala Ali as Sheikh Ali Malik (season 2)
- MaameYaa Boafo as Zainab (season 2)
- Jared Abrahamson as Dennis (season 2)
Guest
- Molly Gordon as Sarah (season 1)
- Jake Lacy as Kyle (season 1)
- Anna Konkle as Chloe (season 1)
- Elisha Henig as Young Ramy (season 1)
- Mia Khalifa as herself (season 2)
- Randa Jarrar as Hosna (season 2)
- Waleed Zuaiter as Yassir (season 2)
- Maybe Burke as Sophia (season 2)
Episodes
Season 1 (2019)
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
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1 | 1 | "Between the Toes" | Harry Bradbeer | Ramy Youssef & Ari Katcher & Ryan Welch | April 19, 2019 | |
In the series premiere, Ramy grapples with dating and relationships as a young Muslim man in America. He goes out on a date with a Muslim-American woman who Ramy is surprised to find is extremely sexually aggressive and kinky. | ||||||
2 | 2 | "Princess Diana" | Christopher Storer | Leah Nanako Winkler | April 19, 2019 | |
Ramy gets fired from his job with Stevie at a tech startup. As a solution, his parents intend to set him up with a job, working for his Uncle Naseem, who is sexist and believes in conspiracy theories about 9/11. | ||||||
3 | 3 | "A Black Spot on the Heart" | Christopher Storer | Minhal Baig | April 19, 2019 | |
After starting at his new job, Ramy becomes interested in a Jewish American girl, to the frustration of his friends. However, he refuses to take drugs with her, so she hooks up with another guy. | ||||||
4 | 4 | "Strawberries" | Ramy Youssef | Ramy Youssef | April 19, 2019 | |
In a flashback to Ramy's past, he remembers how his relationships with friends were changed by the September 11th attacks, due to his Muslim faith. He also wants to be like all his friends and learn to masturbate. After his friends shun him, he walks a different route to school and meets Stevie for the first time, who becomes one of his lifelong friends. | ||||||
5 | 5 | "Do the Ramadan" | Christopher Storer | Sahar Jahani | April 19, 2019 | |
Ramy intends to be fully faithful throughout the 30 days of Ramadan. This includes eating only after sunset and before sunrise, and abstaining from sex and pornography. Ramy meets a married but lonely Muslim woman at the mosque, and ends up having sex with her at her house. | ||||||
6 | 6 | "Refugees" | Cherien Dabis | Bridget Bedard | April 19, 2019 | |
Dena begins experiencing qualms about her status as a virgin. After talking with her friends, she decides to meet up with the local barista from the coffee bar who often flirts with her. She goes back with him to his apartment, but things do not go well. | ||||||
7 | 7 | "Ne Me Quitte Pas" | Cherien Dabis | Ramy Youssef | April 19, 2019 | |
Maysa, who is lonely at home and unfulfilled with her life, becomes a Lyft driver, in the hopes of meeting new people. At first, she has trouble ingratiating herself with riders, but later on, she picks up a Frenchman traveling in the area for business. Because she speaks French and allows him to smoke in her car, he takes a liking to her, and they become fast friends. | ||||||
8 | 8 | "Saving Mikaela" | Cherien Dabis | Ryan Welch | April 19, 2019 | |
Stevie becomes romantically interested in a girl he met through a video game, and ropes Ramy in to physically meet the girl in person. When they meet Mikaela, they realize that she and her friend are still in high school. Mikaela eventually gets drunk and passes out. Ramy kicks open the door to save her, and they end up taking her to Hackensack General, where Ramy's friend is a doctor. | ||||||
9 | 9 | "Dude, Where’s My Country?" | Cherien Dabis | Ramy Youssef | April 19, 2019 | |
In an attempt to find himself and his faith, Ramy makes the trip to visit his family in Egypt. While Ramy would like to see Egypt and pray in the local mosques, his Americanized cousin Shadi wants instead to take him to parties where people are smoking and taking drugs. Ramy meets a cute girl who turns out to be Shadi’s sister. | ||||||
10 | 10 | "Cairo Cowboy" | Jehane Noujaim | Ramy Youssef | April 19, 2019 | |
Ramy eventually decides to make the trip to visit his grandfather in the countryside. The car taking him breaks down, so he decides to walk the rest of the way. He eventually meets up with his grandfather, but soon after Ramy finds him dead on the floor of his home. After the funeral, he and his cousin Amani attend a Sufi hadra and appear to develop romantic feelings towards each other. |
Season 2 (2020)
No. overall | No. in season | Title [8] | Directed by [8] | Written by [8] | Original release date [8] | |
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11 | 1 | "Bay'ah" | Christopher Storer | Ramy Youssef & Amir Sulaiman | May 29, 2020 | |
Ramy is in a midlife crisis and is heavily addicted to sugar and pornography. Ramy's friends barge into his room in an effort to confront him about his self-destructive behavior. Ahmed tells Ramy that he should speak to the Imam at the local mosque. Ramy tries to open up to the Imam about his midlife crisis, past relationships, and porn addiction but is immediately shut down. Uncle Naseem gives Ramy a gun at work telling him its part of his promotion. His white Muslim friend, who now works at another mosque tells Ramy of a "cool radical" Sufi sheikh. Some time later, the Hassan family is invited to Farouk's boss's home for dinner and Ramy tags along. At dinner, he excuses himself to use the restroom, where he takes out his gun and phone to masturbate. An old man walks into the restroom, takes the gun and leaves. Ramy later attends the hadra at the Sufi mosque and builds a new relationship with the Sheikh. | ||||||
12 | 2 | "Can You Hear Me Now?" | Christopher Storer | Ramy Youssef | May 29, 2020 | |
13 | 3 | "Little Omar" | Ramy Youssef | Ramy Youssef & Colleen McGuinness | May 29, 2020 | |
14 | 4 | "Miakhalifa.mov" | Ramy Youssef | Ramy Youssef & Adel Kamal | May 29, 2020 | |
Ramy discovers on Instagram that his cousin and ex-girlfriend, Amani, is engaged. He and Zainab go to the lavish estate of one of the investors of the Sufi center, who had recently backed out due to violence outside of the Masjid. There, Ramy meets former porn star Mia Khalifa, who has been allegedly supplying the investor with her breast milk to cure him of his desire for sex. Ramy drinks some of the milk before humoring the investor to a bout of archery. The investor finally agrees to invest two million dollars in the Sufi center after Ramy convinces him that they are brothers because they drank the same breast milk. Zainab is impressed and tells the Sheik she would like to marry Ramy. | ||||||
15 | 5 | "3riana grande" | Cherien Dabis | Ramy Youssef & Maytha Alhassen | May 29, 2020 | |
After getting into law school, an excited Deena is quick to share the news with her friends online. Maysa, angered by her daughter's behavior explains that this will attract "hasad" or the evil eye. Deena, upset that her parents don't share her enthusiasm says she doesn't believe in this "superstitious shit." Later in the shower, Deena begins to notice her hair thinning and starts to worry. She asks her father, who tells her he began to lose his hair when he was around her age. Anxious and confused, Deena starts wearing a hijab and attempts to try different remedies for her hair loss and even asks her doctor about it during a consultation where she is worried she might have a lump on her breast. She then visits Uncle Naseem who questions her if she is "feeling things" she is not supposed to feel. He refers her to an Egyptian psychic in South Jersey. On her way home from the psychic, Deena's learns from the doctor that she has fibroadenoma which is very common. This temporarily puts her at ease but then her car breaks down, and she is picked up by a Mexican immigrant who confronts her about her headscarf telling her that it is a symbol of oppression, and that she must "melt" into American society. Infuriated by his ignorance, Deena demands that he let her out on the side of the road. | ||||||
16 | 6 | "They" | Cherien Dabis | Ramy Youssef & Ryan Welch | May 29, 2020 | |
Maysa is close to getting an American Citizenship. When she learns that her Lyft Driver account has been suspended, she worries that Lyft's investigation will lead to criminal charges, preventing her from getting the citizenship. She decides to find the person who reported her and identifies that it could be Sophia, a trans passenger she picked up, but misgendered and humiliated. She tracks Sophia at a bar and confronts them, profusely apologizing and begging them for forgiveness and to cancel their Lyft report. Sophia tells Maysa that it was not them that filed the report. Sophia's boyfriend calls the police on Maysa for stalking them, but they don't press charges. Dena arrives to take Maysa home and tells her that she's mean and has no filter before Maysa confesses that she wishes she had finished her degree instead of marrying. Finally, Maysa attains citizenship with determination to vote the president out of office. | ||||||
17 | 7 | "Atlantic City" | Ramy Youssef | Ramy Youssef & Bjanka Pašić | May 29, 2020 | |
The boys force Ramy to have a bachelor party in Atlantic City. They end up at a strip club, where they all - with the exception of Steve - are uncomfortable. Ramy interrupts when Steve is getting a private lap dance and makes everyone go back to the hotel. There, Steve informs Ramy that he needs to ejaculate or else he will suffer because of his condition. After trying to call him a hooker to help him, Ramy finally decides to do the deed himself to save his friend, who cannot use his own arms. When the deed is done, Ramy consoles Steve in his arms as both feel weird and sad about what just happened. | ||||||
18 | 8 | "Frank in the Future" | Ramy Youssef | Ramy Youssef & Azhar Usman | May 29, 2020 | |
Farouk lost his job two months ago and still hasn't told his family. Every day he goes to a coffee shop to work on job applications with no prospects in sight. Boomer, the dog, develops depression, possibly since she is sensitive to Farouk's plight. At a gathering to meet the Sheik and Zainab, who Ramy would like to marry, Farouk loses it when confronted about money matters, especially when his brother-in-law Naseem presses him. Later, in private, Farouk finally confesses the truth to Ramy and advises him not to get married because of the stress of being the man of the household. Ramy, in turn, encourages Farouk to live in the present. Farouk and the Sheik together finally agree to the union of Ramy and Zainab. | ||||||
19 | 9 | "Uncle Naseem" | Desiree Akhavan | Ramy Youssef & Kate Thulin | May 29, 2020 | |
The episode follows Uncle Naseem as he navigates the difficulties of hiding his sexuality, as well as his coarseness in most human interactions, which contributes to the loneliness he feels. | ||||||
20 | 10 | "You Are Naked in Front of Your Sheikh" | Christopher Storer | Ramy Youssef & Rob Ulin | May 29, 2020 | |
It's Ramy and Zainab's Katb Ktab, but to Ramy’s horror, Amani, his former lover and cousin, arrives from Egypt to attend the ceremony. We discover in a flashback that they broke up in Cairo when Ramy refused to commit. Back to the present day, after an awkward conversation in a grocery store parking lot, they hook up. The next day, Ramy goes through with the Katb Ktab, and Zainab loses her virginity to him. After their sexual encounter, Ramy tells her about what happened with Amani the previous night. Horrified, Zainab leaves him, and Ramy awakens the next morning to be confronted by the Sheik, who excoriates him and tells him to get help from someone else. In a desperate final plea, Ramy asks Amani to be with him and tells her that they’re meant to be, but she is traumatised by his behaviour and refuses him. Heartbroken and alone, Ramy takes Boomer the dog and goes to Dennis' abandoned car, where they listen to his CD on how to be a Muslim. |
Production
Development
On October 4, 2017, it was announced that Hulu had given the production a pilot presentation order. The series was created by Ramy Youssef, Ari Katcher and Ryan Welch, all of whom are expected to write for the series. Executive producers are set to include Katcher, Welch, and Jerrod Carmichael. Production companies involved with the series include A24.[9]
On April 18, 2018, it was announced that Hulu had given the production a series order for a first season.[4][10][11] On February 11, 2019, it was announced that the series would premiere on April 19, 2019.[12] On May 1, 2019, it was reported that Hulu renewed the series for a second season which is set to premiere on May 29, 2020.[1][2]
Casting
Alongside the series order announcement, it was confirmed that Ramy Youssef would star in the series.[4] On October 19, 2018, it was announced that May Calamawy had been cast in a series regular role.[13] In July 2019, it was announced Mahershala Ali would guest star in the second season.[14] In November 2019, it was announced Laith Nakli had been upped to a series regular.[15]
Release
Broadcast
In Europe, the series is available to stream on StarzPlay.[16]
Premiere
The series held its world premiere during the 2019 South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas, as a part of the festival's "Episodic Premieres" series of screenings.[17]
Reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 97% based on 37 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "An insightful and hilarious glimpse into the life of a Muslim American family, Ramy perfectly articulates the precarious nature and nuances of identity and announces Ramy Youssef is a talent to watch."[18] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[19]
Accolades
For its first season, Ramy Youssef was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy. He won the award at the 77th Golden Globe Awards in 2020.[20]
Award | Category | Nominees | Result | Ref. |
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Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Actor in a Comedy Series | Ramy Youssef as Ramy Hassan | Nominated | [21] |
Golden Globe Awards | Best Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy | Ramy Youssef as Ramy Hassan | Won | [22] |
Gotham Independent Film Awards | Breakthrough Series – Short Form | Ramy | Nominated | [23] |
Peabody Awards | Entertainment | Ramy | Won | [24] |
SXSW Film Festival | Episodic Audience Award | Ramy | Won | [25] |
References
- ^ a b Pedersen, Erik (May 1, 2019). "'Pen15' & 'Ramy' Renewed For Season 2 On Hulu". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
- ^ a b Hipes, Patrick (January 17, 2020). "Hulu Sets Premiere Dates For 'The Great', 'Ramy' And 'Solar Opposites' – TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- ^ Deb, Sopan (2019-04-18). "'Ramy' Is a Quietly Revolutionary Comedy". The New York Times. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
- ^ a b c Petski, Denise (May 2, 2018). "Hulu Picks Up Mindy Kaling's 'Four Weddings And A Funeral', Ramy Youssef Comedy To Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
- ^ VanArendonk, Kathryn (April 18, 2019). "Ramy Isn't Telling a Universal Story of the American Muslim Experience. That's Why It's So Good". Vulture. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
- ^ Murthi, Vikram (May 10, 2019). "'Ramy' Presents a Nuanced Slice of Life for Millennial Muslims". Vulture. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
- ^ St. Félix, Doreen (May 18, 2020). ""Ramy" 's Comedy of Spiritual Errors". New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
- ^ a b c d "Ramy – Synopses". Hulu. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 4, 2017). "Ramy Youssef Muslim Comedy From Jerrod Carmichael & A24 Gets Hulu Pilot Presentation Order". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (May 2, 2018). "Hulu Orders Mindy Kaling's 'Four Weddings and a Funeral,' Ramy Youssef Comedy to Series". Variety. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
- ^ Jarvey, Natalie (May 2, 2018). "Ramy Youssef Comedy From 'Carmichael Show' Team Lands Series Order at Hulu". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
- ^ Petski, Denise (February 11, 2019). "Hulu Sets Premiere Dates For 'Into The Dark', 'I'm Just F*cking With You', 'All That We Destroy' & 'Ramy' – TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
- ^ Petski, Denise (October 19, 2018). "'Ramy': May Calamawy Cast As Series Regular In Ramy Youssef Hulu Comedy". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
- ^ White, Peter (July 26, 2019). "'Ramy': Mahershala Ali To Guest Star In Second Season Of Hulu Comedy – TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
- ^ Petski, Denise (November 26, 2019). "'Ramy': Laith Nakli Upped To Series Regular For Season 2 Of Hulu Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
- ^ Wiseman, Andreas (2019-08-06). "Starzplay Picks Up European Streaming Rights To Comedy Series 'Ramy'". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
- ^ N'Duka, Amanda (January 16, 2019). "SXSW: Seth Rogen/Charlize Theron Comedy, Matthew McConaughey's 'The Beach Bum' Among 2019 Feature Lineup". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
- ^ "Ramy: Season 1 (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- ^ "Ramy: Season 1". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- ^ Horton, Adrian (2020-01-06). "The full list of Golden Globes 2020 winners". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
- ^ Hammond, Pete (2019-12-08). "'The Irishman', 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood' Lead Critics' Choice Nominations; Netflix Dominates With 61 Noms In Movies And TV". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
- ^ Horton, Adrian (2020-01-06). "Golden Globes 2020: Fleabag and 1917 lead British invasion with major wins". The Guardian. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
- ^ Sharf, Zack (2019-12-03). "Gotham Winners: 'Marriage Story' Wins Big as Gerwig, Awkwafina Steal the Show Backstage". IndieWire. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
- ^ Gomez, Patrick (June 11, 2020). "Exclusive: Ramy Youssef's Peabody Award speech—plus the (thankfully) diverse list of 2020 winners". AV Club. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- ^ Debruge, Peter (2019-03-16). "SXSW Audience Awards Show Love for 'Running With Beto' and 'Peanut Butter Falcon'". Variety. Retrieved 2020-02-09.