CAIRO, Egypt — American comedian George Carlin’s famous quote “It’s the quiet ones you gotta watch” may well be applied to Netflix’ success in Egypt. The streaming service quietly entered Egypt in the beginning of 2016 and now, three years later, it is popular among not only subscribers but also Egyptian producers. Currently, the service streams more than a dozen Egyptian films and TV series.

The first Egyptian show on Netflix was "Grand Hotel," a popular love and intrigue series that portrays Egypt in the 1950s. Netflix re-baptized the 2016 run of 30 episodes as “Secret of the Nile” and streamed it in April 2018. It was the first in a long line of series and films. In time for the last Ramadan, the peak period for television in Egypt and overall Middle East, Netflix signed on half a dozen Arab films and series, including Egyptian American director Ahmed Ahmed’s award-winning film “Just Like Us.”

In the spring of 2019, more popular TV series have found their way to the streaming service. They range from "Tayea," a family saga of love and revenge that revolves around a doctor from Upper Egypt, to comedy series "Khalsena B Sheyaka" and many others.

A source from Netflix independent and local acquisitions section told Al-Monitor that Netflix is engaged in talks on additional series that will be aired in Ramadan 2019, most notably the crime series "Kalabsh" ("Handcuffs") and dramas "Valentino" and "Lams Aktaf." Netflix also aims to produce an original Egyptian series in 2019 and is currently working with several producers of youth drama, said the source who requested anonymity.