Netflix shakes up Egyptian film, TV industry
A year after "The Secret of Nile" became the first Egyptian series on Netflix, more Egyptian productions are finding their way to the streaming service.
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.”
