''Ramy'' is an American

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

television series that premiered on April 19, 2019, on

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

. In May 2019, Hulu renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on May 29, 2020. The series stars

Ramy Youssef Ramy Youssef (, ; born March 26, 1991) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer, and director. He is known for his role as Ramy Hassan on the Hulu comedy series '' Ramy'' (2019–2022), for which he won a Golden Globe A ...

as the titular character. In July 2020, Hulu renewed the series for a third season, which premiered on September 30, 2022. The series has been praised for its portrayal of

American Muslims Islam is the third-largest religion in the United States, religion in the United States (1.34%) after Christianity in the United States, Christianity (67%) and Judaism in the United States, Judaism (2.4%). The 2020 United States Religion Cens ...

when most Western pop culture depictions are "usually as the bad guys". In January 2020, Youssef was awarded the

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

for Best Actor in a Television Series Musical or Comedy for his role in ''Ramy''. Additionally, Youssef was nominated for two

Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, and in 2020 he also received the

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

Premise

''Ramy'' follows "a first-generation

American Muslim Islam is the third-largest religion in the United States, religion in the United States (1.34%) after Christianity in the United States, Christianity (67%) and Judaism in the United States, Judaism (2.4%). The 2020 United States Religion Cens ...

who is on a spiritual journey in his politically divided

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

neighborhood. It explores the challenges of what it is like being caught between an

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian community that thinks life is a moral test, and a generation that thinks life has no consequences."

Cast and characters

Main

as Ramy Hassan, the protagonist of the series. He is a

millennial Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s as ...

American Muslim who grapples with his faith and lifestyle and the judgment of his friends and family. * May Calamawy as Dena Hassan, Ramy's sister. Although she is a graduate student, Dena is frustrated that her actions and behavior are still restricted by her overprotective parents. This causes her to regularly critique the double standards against which she and Ramy are judged. *

Mohammed Amer Mohammed Mustafa Amer (; born July 24, 1981) is a Palestinian-American stand-up comedian and actor. He is known for his Netflix comedy special ''Mo Amer: The Vagabond'' and as a member of the comedy trio Allah Made Me Funny. Amer also appeared ...

as Mo, Ramy's cousin who owns a diner. *

Hiam Abbass Hiam Abbass (; ; born 30 November 1960), also spelled Hiyam Abbas, is a Palestinian actress and film director with Israeli and French citizenship. She is known for her roles in films such as ''The Syrian Bride'' (2004), '' Paradise Now'' (2005) ...

as Maysa Hassan, Ramy's mother. *

Dave Merheje Dave Merheje is a Canadians, Canadian stand-up comedian.

as Ahmed, Ramy's friend and a doctor. *

Amr Waked Amr Waked ( ; born ) is an Egyptian film, television and stage actor. He is best known to international audiences and in Hollywood for his role in the 2005 film ''Syriana''. Other prominent roles include a Yemeni sheikh called Muhammad in ''Salmon ...

as Farouk Hassan, Ramy's father. *

Laith Nakli Laith Nakli (born 1 December 1969) is a British actor of Syrian descent best known for his role in the 2017 movie ''The Wall'' as the voice of the mythical sniper named Juba, the 2017 miniseries '' The Long Road Home'' and 2018 movie '' 12 Stron ...

as Uncle Naseem, Ramy and Dena's boisterous uncle. He owns a jewelry business, where he employs Ramy after he’s fired from a startup. He casually makes sexist and anti-Semitic statements, despite working with Jewish jewelers. Naseem is very protective of his family, especially of his sister Maysa. (recurring season 1; main season 2 and 3)

Recurring

* Steve Way as Steve Russo, Ramy's longtime friend and coworker. They become acquainted after the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, when Ramy was alienated due to widespread

Islamophobia Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or hatred against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. Islamophobia is primarily a form of religious or cultural bigotry; and people who harbour such sentiments often stereot ...

. *

Mahershala Ali Mahershala Ali ( ; born Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore on February 16, 1974) is an American actor. He has received multiple accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Fi ...

as Sheikh Ali Malik (season 2) * MaameYaa Boafo as Zainab (season 2 and 3) *

Rosaline Elbay Rosaline Elbay (; ) is an Egyptian stage and screen actress, producer and writer. She is known for her roles as Judy Goodwin on the Netflix series ''Kaleidoscope (American TV series), Kaleidoscope,'' Amani on the Hulu/A24 Films series Ramy (TV se ...

as Amani, Ramy's cousin (season 1 and 2) *Shadi Alfons as Shadi *

Michael Chernus Michael Louis Chernus (born August 8, 1977) is an American actor who has acted on film, television, and the stage. He is best known for his role as Cal Chapman on the Netflix original comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019) ...

as Michael *

Jade Eshete Jade Eshete (born January 9, 1985) is an American television and film actress. She starred in the BBC America series ''Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency''. Early life Jade Eshete was born to Guyanese and Ethiopian parents in Brooklyn, N ...

as Fatima *

Poorna Jagannathan Poorna Jagannathan ( ; born December 22, 1972) is an American producer and actress. She is known for her portrayal of Safar Khan in the HBO drama miniseries '' The Night Of'', as well as for her role as Nalini Vishwakumar in the Netflix teen come ...

as Salma (season 1) *

Molly Gordon Molly Gordon is an American actress, screenwriter and director. She has appeared in the drama TV series '' Animal Kingdom'' (2016–2018), and comedy films '' Life of the Party'' (2018), ''Booksmart'' (2019), and '' Good Boys'' (2019). In 2023, s ...

as Sarah (season 1 and 3) *

Jared Abrahamson Jared Abrahamson is a Canadian actor. He is known for his performance in the 2016 film '' Hello Destroyer'', for which he was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor and won the award for Best Actor in a Canadian Film at the Vancouve ...

as Dennis (season 2) *

Rana Roy Rana Roy is a British singer, dancer, and actress. Rana Roy was born on October 1, 1986, in London. * In 2007 she was part of the winning Team Bruno on the reality show ''DanceX'', and went on to join the song and dance group Pulse * In 2008 she ...

as Yasmina (guest season 1 and 2; recurring season 3) * Julian Sergi as Yuval (season 3)

Guest

Dina Shihabi Dina Shihabi (; born September 21, 1989) is a Saudi Arabian actress working in the United States. Early life and education Shihabi was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and was raised in Saudi Arabia, Beirut, and Dubai. Her family is of Arab and Euro ...

as Nour (season 1) *

Jake Lacy Jameson Griffin "Jake" Lacy (born February 14, 1985) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Pete Miller on the ninth and final season of ''The Office'', as Fran Parker in the fourth and fifth seasons of HBO's '' Girls'', and Sha ...

as Kyle (season 1) *

Anna Konkle Anna Konkle (born April 7, 1987) is an American actress, writer and director. She is known for co-creating and starring as Anna Kone on Hulu's original TV comedy series ''PEN15'', alongside Maya Erskine. Her work on the series earned her two Prime ...

as Chloe (season 1) *

Elisha Henig Elisha Henig is an American actor, musician, and writer. Personal life and career Elisha Henig grew up in Portland, Oregon, and became interested in acting after taking a Shakespeare class at the age of eight. He began acting in guest roles in ...

as Young Ramy (season 1) *

Mia Khalifa Mia Khalifa (; ; born 1993) is a Lebanese-American media personality and former pornographic film actress. Rising to prominence in late 2014, she became one of the most searched performers on Pornhub after a controversial scene featuring a ...

as herself (season 2) *

Omar Metwally Omar Metwally is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Dr. Vik Ullah in the Showtime drama series ''The Affair'', as well as for the films ''Munich'' (2005), ''Rendition'' (2007), and '' Miral'' (2010). He has also appeared in t ...

as Bin Khalied (season 2) *

Randa Jarrar Randa Jarrar (born 1978), also known as Ra Jarrar is an American writer and translator. Her first novel, the coming-of-age story ''A Map of Home'' (2008), won her the Hopwood Award, and an Arab American Book Award. Since then she has published sh ...

as Hosna (season 2) *

Waleed Zuaiter Waleed F. Zuaiter (; born January 16, 1971) is a Palestinian-American actor and producer who has performed in on-stage productions in Washington, D.C.; Berkeley, California; and New York City, as well as several film and television productions. H ...

as Yassir (season 2) *

Bella Hadid Isabella Khair Hadid ( ; born October 9, 1996) is an American model. Hadid has made 35 appearances on international ''Vogue'' covers. In 2022, she was named Model of the Year by the British Fashion Council. ''Time'' magazine named her one ...

as Lena (season 3) *

James Badge Dale James Badge Dale (born James Badgett Dale, May 1, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Chase Edmunds in '' 24'', Robert Leckie in '' The Pacific'', Trooper Barrigan in ''The Departed'', Luke Lewenden in '' The Grey'', Eric ...

as Sheikh Abu Bakar Miller (season 3) *

Sarita Choudhury Sarita Catherine Louise Choudhury (born August 18, 1966) is a British actress. She made her screen debut starring in the romantic drama film ''Mississippi Masala'' (1991). She later appeared in American and international film productions, includ ...

as Olivia (season 3) *

Christopher Abbott Christopher Jacob Abbott (born February 10, 1986) is an American actor. He is known for his work in independent films. In 2011, Abbott made his feature film debut in '' Martha Marcy May Marlene'' and his Broadway debut in the revival of the pla ...

as Silvak (season 3) *

Majid Jordan Majid Jordan is a Canadian-Bahraini R&B duo, composed of vocalist Majid Al Maskati and producer Jordan Ullman, both of whom originate from Toronto, Ontario. Formed in 2011, the duo signed with fellow Toronto native Drake's record label OVO Sound ...

as Halal Brothers (season 3) *

Robert Herjavec Robert Herjavec (; born September 14, 1962) is a Croatian-Canadian businessman, investor, and television personality. Herjavec founded BRAK Systems, a Canadian integrator of Internet security software, and sold it to AT&T Canada (now Allstream ...

as Himself (season 3) *

Amy Landecker Amy Lauren Landecker (born September 30, 1969) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Sarah Pfefferman on the Amazon Prime Video, Amazon comedy-drama series ''Transparent (TV series), Transparent'' (2014–2019), as well as her supp ...

as Kendra (season 3) *Bevin Bru as Ashley (season 3)

Episodes

Season 1 (2019)

Season 2 (2020)

Season 3 (2022)

Production

Development

On October 4, 2017, it was announced that Hulu had given the production a pilot presentation order. The series was created by Ramy Youssef, Ari Katcher and Ryan Welch, and Youssef and Welch both wrote episodes for the series. Executive producers include Katcher, Welch, and

Jerrod Carmichael Rothaniel Jerrod Carmichael ( ; born April 6, 1987) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and filmmaker. Born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he later moved to Los Angeles, where his career began in the early 2010s comedy club scene. Carmic ...

. Production companies involved with the series include

A24 A24 Films LLC, commonly referred to as A24, is an American Privately held company, independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. The studio is based in Manhattan. The company ...

. On April 18, 2018, it was announced that Hulu had given the production a series order for a first season. On February 11, 2019, it was announced that the series would premiere on April 19, 2019. On May 1, 2019, it was reported that Hulu renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on May 29, 2020. On July 9, 2020, Hulu renewed the series for a third season, which premiered on September 30, 2022. In a 2024 interview, Youssef expressed uncertainty about the future of ''Ramy'' due to ongoing discussions and scheduling challenges. He mentioned that the writer's strike influenced the decision to postpone further episodes and hinted at the possibility of a concluding season or a two-part finale. Youssef indicated optimism about returning to the project when timing and readiness align.

Casting

Alongside the series order announcement, it was confirmed that Ramy Youssef would star in the series. On October 19, 2018, it was announced that May Calamawy had been cast in a series regular role. In July 2019, it was announced

would guest star in the second season. In November 2019, it was announced

had been upped to a series regular. On March 31, 2022, it was announced that

would have a recurring guest role in the third season. It was also her acting debut in the show.

Release

Broadcast

In Europe, the series is available to stream on

StarzPlay Starz (stylized in all caps as STARZ; pronounced "stars") is an American pay television network owned by Starz Entertainment, and is the flagship property of Starz Inc. Launched in 1994 as a multiplex service of what is now Starz Encore, it ...

. In the United Kingdom, the series premiered in March 2021 on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

. In Latin America, the series premiered in August 2020 on FX. In

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, the series is available on

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...

. In

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, the series is available to stream on Showmax. In the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, the series is available to stream on

OSN Orbit Showtime Network, commonly known as OSN, is a Dubai-based Satellite television, satellite TV company, serving the Middle East and North Africa region. OSN mainly broadcasts programming from TV networks owned by Paramount Global, Warner B ...

Premiere

The series held its world premiere during the 2019 South by Southwest film festival in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, as a part of the festival's "Episodic Premieres" series of screenings. It won the Episodic Audience Award for the festival.

Reception

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the first season holds an approval rating of 98% based on 43 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "An insightful and hilarious glimpse into the life of a Muslim American family, ''Ramy'' perfectly articulates the precarious nature and nuances of identity and announces Ramy Youssef as a talent to watch." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, it has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100, based on 18 critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season holds an approval rating of 95% based on 44 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "''Ramy'''s layered approach yields rich rewards in a poignant second season that digs deeper without losing faith in the power of levity."' On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 82 out of 100, based on 12 critics. The third season holds an approval rating of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes based on ten reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 81 out of 100, based on six critics.

Accolades

For its first season, Ramy Youssef was nominated for the

Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall * Golden Cap, Dorset * Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucesters ...

. He won the award at the

77th Golden Globe Awards The 77th Golden Globe Awards honored the best in 2019 in film, film and 2019 in American television, American television of 2019, as chosen by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Produced by Dick Clark Productions and the HFPA, the ceremony ...

in 2020.

References

External links

* {{Hulu 2010s American comedy-drama television series 2020s American comedy-drama television series 2019 American television series debuts 2022 American television series endings American English-language television shows Arabic-language television shows Hulu original programming Television series by A24 Television series about Islam Television shows scored by Dan Romer Multilingual television series