Key insights:
- Youssef and his co-creators decided to jettison many typical TV show conventions when making Ramy.
- He tackles hot-button topics in comedy by focusing on the "humanity" behind them.
- The pandemic shut down Ramy's Season 2 production three days early, prompting creative solutions to complete the episodes.
One of last year’s best new series was Ramy, which creator/star Ramy Youssef based on his life as part of an Arab-Muslim family living in New Jersey. While Ramy was a critical success, the Hulu comedy—which is TV’s first scripted show to center on a Muslim-American family—didn’t really break through until January’s Golden Globes. That night, Youssef was the unexpected winner of best actor in a TV musical or comedy series, over bigger names like Michael Douglas (from Netflix’s The Kominsky Method) and Bill Hader (HBO’s Barry).
This story first appeared in the June 8, 2020, issue of Adweek magazine. Click here to subscribe.
