Ramadan TV 2016: Politics gives way to thrills, mental illness and nostalgia

Over 80 percent of Egypt’s original TV content airs during the holy month (which is putting a lot of financial pressure on channels) and Ramadan series are an interesting indicator of society’s preoccupations over the past 12 months.

Looking at the previews for this year’s series, which kick off this coming week, one notable trend seems to be the retreat of politics.

The only soap that stands out as being political is Foq Mastawa al-Shobohat (Beyond Reproach), which not only has a politician as its hero but touches on the January 25 revolution — as do a couple of other series. Directed by Hany Khalifa (Sleepless Nights, Bitter Sugar), Beyond Reproach stars veteran film star Yousra as a politician running for Parliament whose mother is kidnapped by some bad guys to pressure her into doing something for them.

In place of politics, there’s a surge in thrillers, especially ones involving the police. These include Al-Khoroug (The Exit), which features a hardworking police officer who realizes too late that his family needs him; Grand Hotel, a murder mystery; Al-Mizan (The Scales), about the challenges faced by a principled female lawyer; Ras al-Ghoul (The Ghoul’s Head), about bounty hunters; Al-Qaysar (Caesar), about a terrorist leader surrounded by police in the Rafah tunnels; Shehadat Milad (Birth Certificate), in which a police officer who discovers that his biological father was a criminal; and Sabae Arawah (Seven Souls), on the fall out when a police officer arrests a powerful man for murder.

There’s also an ongoing theme of mental health — last year most notably tackled in the Mariam Naoum-scripted, addiction-themed Taht al-Saytara (Under Control) — which can be found in at least three new series. Mohamed Gomaa’s Al-Khanka (Mental Hospital) stars Ghada Abdelrazek as a teacher at an international school accused of sexually harassing a student. Al-Keif (The High) is an adaptation of Ali Abdel Khalek’s brilliant yet technically incompetent 1985 film of the same name, about two brothers involved in drug-dealing, addiction and philosophical questions about ethics.

Soqoot Horr (Free Fall) stars Ramadan star-of-the-moment Nelly Karim as a woman placed in a psychiatric clinic after being accused of killing her husband and sister, having been found with the murder weapon. This actually might be one to watch, as it’s co-scripted by Wael Hamdy and Mariam Naoum.

Nostalgia has a heavy presence this year as well as crime. There’s the epic return of Layali al-Helmeya (Helmeya Nights), a show Egyptians were raised around in the 1990s. It traces social and cultural changes in society by following two families. This sixth part of the series focuses on what happens to the two familes after the January 25 revolution.

Nelly and Sherihan, starring comedian sisters Donia and Amy Samir Ghanem, may also be a nostalgia fest. Most people who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s associate their Ramadan memories with the riddles around which each episode of the old "fawazeer" (Ramadan quiz shows) were centered — as well as their cleverly thought-out dances boasting extravagant costumes and catchy songs. Actors Nelly and Sherihan were icons of this type of show, which originally started on the radio, and while others attempted fawazeer in the 2000s (such as ballet dancer Nadine and singer Miriam Fares) they are generally considered the pioneers.

Nostalgia may also be one of the motivating factors behind Al-Moghany (The Singer), a musical biopic starring 61-year-old popstar Mohamed Mounir as himself.

While there isn’t much space for romance this year, Waad is a relationship drama, Kilmet Ser (Password) sees a woman seek divorce, and Heya wa Da Vinci (Her and da Vinci), starring film star Laila Elwy as a female lawyer, seems to be a romantic black comedy.

There are a few other comedies, of course. In Maamoun wa Shorakah (Maamoun and his Partners) an old and stingy Adel Imam, who lives alone in a huge mansion in Garden City, is suddenly bombarded by family members who are each an Egyptian stereotype. A guy with a beard causes trouble, for example, and Gulf Arabs are involved. It just might be a fictional adaptation of revolution, and it’s definitely Imam making fun of everybody as usual. Youmiyat Zawga Mafroussa Awy 2 (Diary of a Very Angry Wife 2) depicts a husband and wife as journalist colleagues with conflicting ideas about January 25.

Fifty-eight-year-old Sawsan Badr, an actor from the Laila Elwy and Yousra generation who wasn't as lucky in striking stardom but has had an interesting career as someone who pays a lot of attention to detail (she’s the kind of actor people add to mainstream works to make them seem more important), is making a comeback with appearances in more than one show this Ramadan, including Mohamed Yasine’s Afrah al-Qoba (Wedding Song), which is set in the 1970s and follows a group of actors who realize that they’re playing themselves in a new play.

In terms of curiosities, there’s Azmit Nasab (Crisis of Lineage). It stars Zeina — an actor who announced that the father of her baby twins (Ezz Eddin and Zein Eddin) was fellow actor Ahmed Ezz, who responded “I swear to God they’re not my kids” even after a court ruling proved his paternity last summer — as a nurse having the baby of a married businessman. And Shady al-Fakharany delivers an unconventional series about a devilish phantom called Wanous.

Note: An earlier version of this article assumed that Nelly and Sherihan would be about the old “fawazeer” themselves, but it turns out that the name just refers to them — it's actually about two cousins, one of whom grew up rich and one poor, meeting for the first time.