Can YouTube series compete with Egypt TV dramas during Ramadan?
A group of Egyptian actors known for their award-winning play "1980 and Above" try their hand at a Ramadan series on YouTube.
Rafik, a young rich Egyptian guy, gathers his friends from college and makes them a proposal: The 12 friends stay at his apartment for an indefinite period and the last one to leave is awarded a large sum of money, just like in the award-winning TV series "Survivor."
The friends, most of whom have not seen each other for a long time, agree to play along, unveiling a glimpse of their complicated past and an even more complicated present as Rafik's apartment becomes their shared habitat and, eventually, "a prison."
This is the plot of “Segn Ikhtyari” (“Optional Prison”), an independent production by young Egyptian actors on YouTube. The self-funded series will be broadcast on YouTube during the holy month of Ramadan, Egypt’s high season for TV dramas where producers and channels compete for high ratings.
The YouTube series, aimed to be a catchall youth drama, will be available in nine 30-minute episodes. The team behind it is already well-known in Egypt with their play “1980 W Enta Taleh” (“1980 and Above,” also known as "1980 and Beyond"), which was launched in 2012 and ended earlier this year.
