Netflix has announced plans to develop its first ever original Arabic series entitled Jinn. The series will feature Middle Eastern talent and be filmed in Jordan later this year. Executive produced by Elan and Rajeev Dassani (SEAM), this young adult fantasy adventure comes from Lebanese director Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya (Very Big Shot) and Jordanian screenwriter, Bassel Ghandour (Theeb), partnering with the twin producers.
Jinn will be a contemporary supernatural teenage drama focused on young Arab characters. It will follow a group of teenagers whose lives are disrupted when a spirit known as a Jinn takes the form of a teenage boy that appears to them in the ancient city of Petra. Their friendships and young romances are tested when they set out to stop an even greater darkness that is threatening to destroy the world. Can they come together in time, and find the answers needed, in order to save everything?
Chaaya referred to the series as being a “great opportunity to portray Arab youth in a very unique way.” He continued by stating “the level of authenticity Netflix is trying to achieve with this show is definitely what attracted me the most to be part of this project.”
Ghandour echoed Chaaya’s sentiments in Netflix striving to attain authenticity by “investing a lot in the region” and reveals “[we] have such a rich storytelling culture, and we’ll finally be able to enjoy Arabic content with Netflix quality.”
Erik Barmack, VP of International Original Series at Netflix revealed that the company is “delighted to be working with such a variety of breakout talent to launch our first Arabic original series in the Middle East… We are extremely excited to bring this story to a global audience, and to celebrate Arab youth and culture. We can’t wait to share more details later this year.”
The six-episode series is expected to launch to all Netflix members around the world in 2019.
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