Ramy (2019-Present)

Today, I’m staying home for everyone who’s unemployed right now.

I’m really enjoying this Hulu comedy. At times, its humor reminds me a bit of Atlanta, because it can be so low-key and suddenly get ridiculous (not as ridiculous as Atlanta, mind, but it still has a little of that air to it,) and the characters are interesting and engaging.

Ramy is having a crisis: personally, professionally, and spiritually. He’s trying to figure out what he wants to make of himself while simultaneously suspecting that he should’ve had that worked out by now. He balances what he wants to do with his life with the need to support himself, as well as his desire to settle down in a relationship with his desire to have fun. Through it all, he tries to be a good Muslim… while he also tries to understand what that means.

Even though there’s plenty to like about this show, I have to start with Ramy himself. I feel like we see so few characters who are exploring what their religion means for them, and that often feels especially true with Muslim characters. From characters like Sayid on Lost or Abed on Community (who are explicitly noted as Muslim but are hardly ever seen to engage with their faith) to characters like Anwar on Skins (who goes out of his way to not follow most of Islam’s teachings,) Ramy is a character who feels much more honest. He’s a little all over the place. He has sex, but not with Muslim girls. He doesn’t drink or do drugs and he prays regularly, but he’s not sure how much connection he feels to God. Season 1 of the show finds him trying to recenter himself by reconnecting with his religion, and that journey isn’t a straight line. It’s a wandering one, full of leaps, uncertainty, and backsliding. I really appreciate that.

While Ramy, as the title character, is certainly the driving force of the show, I like that the series also takes time to spread the love around. The first season features a couple of episodes that Ramy is hardly in at all, and we instead follow his sister Dena or his mother Maysa, learning so much about their lives that Ramy never sees. There’s also an episode told mainly in a flashback to 9/11 and its immediate aftermath for the Muslim-American community (seeing Ramy’s dad put up an American flag outside their house – man, that gets me!)

The only actor here that I’m really familiar with is Hiam Abbass as Ramy’s mom – she played Mouna in The Visitor – although I know I’ve seen Amr Waked, who plays Ramy’s dad, before too. Ramy Youssef is both our star and our creator, and so it’s no surprise that he plays Ramy with earnest aplomb, bringing heart and humor to the role in spades but also stepping back at important moments to give other characters/actors time to shine. May Calamawy is excellent as Dena, shining in her spotlight episode. I also want to give the show kudos for casting a disabled actor to play a disabled character, something that is far too rare in Hollywood. Steve Way plays Ramy’s friend Steve, and their often-caustic friendship is a great addition to the show.

Warnings

Language (including racial slurs,) sexual content, drinking/smoking/drug use, violence, and strong thematic elements.