Stand up comedian and writer of Palestinian descent, Mo Amer, is returning to Netflix after the success of his previous comedy special, The Vagabond, in 2018. The streaming service announced that it would premiere the comedian’s new standup show, Mo Amer: Mohammed in Texas, on November 30, 2021, in addition to his untitled scripted comedy. Both programs were produced by indie production company A24, which has previously brought us critically acclaimed films such as Moonlight and Uncut Gems.
Mo Amer’s new programs draw from the comedian’s personal experiences and reflect his interest in cultural commentary. The standup comedy special, Mo Amer: Mohammed in Texas, covers Amer’s life as a Palestinian refugee growing up in Houston in an hour-long set that covers various topics. Amer touches on pandemic politics, the spread of Arab culture in the West (hookah, hummus, and the proliferation of bidets), and the subtle art of cursing in Arabic.
The entertainer is known for making people laugh with his work, but he often moves audiences with his stories as well. In this Netflix special, Amer reveals what it means to have two homes with no land while calling for more prominent civility and neighbourliness in a divided world.
In the comedian’s untitled scripted series, Mo Amer portrays one of the protagonists, Mo Najjar. Throughout the series, we watch Najjar as he navigates between two cultures, three languages and a ton of unfavourable circumstances as a Palestinian refugee continually living one step away from asylum on the track to U.S. citizenship. Mo Amer acts alongside colleagues such as Teresa Ruiz from Narcos: Mexico and Omar Elba from Limetown in this eight-episode dramedy, which he created with Ramy Youssef (from Mr Robot).
Over these eight episodes, we follow the heartfelt story of Mo Najjar as he flees to Houston, Texas with his family. Together, they find ways to cope with their circumstances – primarily through humour – and Mo learns to adjust to his new world and gets ahead in life despite difficulties.
Until the release of these programs, you can follow Amer through his work in the comedy troupe “Allah Made Me Funny” – the longest running artistic collective of Muslim comic performers in the world. And look out for the comedian’s feature in the new DC film Black Adam alongside Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
Enjoy Mo Amer’s latest standup show, commercial-free, by joining Netflix’s group of 214 million members, here, on November 30th.
