Breaking a decade-old boycott by Persian Gulf broadcasters over a diplomatic standoff with the Damascus government, a Syrian war drama figures this month on the Ramadan menu of a Saudi-owned television channel.
Syrian dramas have long been popular across the region, but since Arab states in the Persian Gulf suspended ties with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government in 2012, regional broadcasters have shied away from Syrian-produced shows, especially those related to war.
Syrian actors have still found their way on to screens through pan-Arab productions and historical dramas produced by Persian Gulf networks, such as the popular Bab al-Harra series.
However, shows made by Syrians were largely shunned.
In a sign of change, the Saudi-owned MBC channel is airing a Syrian-made series, Suspended, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when viewership peaks.
The Arabic-language show shot outside Damascus is the “first social drama made entirely by Syrians to air on a Saudi-owned TV channel since 2011,” when the country’s war erupted, director Seif Elsbei said.
MBC has yet to respond to a request for comment, but its decision to air the show comes amid warming ties between al-Assad and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a Saudi ally that reopened its embassy in Damascus in 2018.
Last month, al-Assad visited the UAE, in his first official trip to an Arab state since the start of the Syrian war.
“The return of Syrian social dramas is a breakthrough,” Elsbei said on the set of the show, as children ran around charred vehicles used as props.
The series is not only airing on MBC channels, but also on the popular streaming service Shahid, likewise owned by the MBC group.
The wide exposure is seen as a boon to Syria’s war-hit filming industry, which has experienced dried-up funding and the exodus of major talent, mainly to Egypt and Dubai.
“We suffered greatly from the years-long boycott of Syrian drama,” said Yamen Alhajali, screenwriter of the series.
“Art should be treated as art,” not as politics, he said.
For Alhajali, MBC’s popularity guarantees the show a wide audience.
MBC “is one of the most important platforms in the Arab world,” Alhajali added. “It has a wide audience and large viewership that will give the show a large reach.”
This Ramadan season, about 20 Syrian shows of various genres are airing on TV screens at home in Syria, as well as across the region.
For Ahmad al-Sheikh, producer of Suspended, this marks the start of a long road toward recovery.
“Gulf channels are an essential supporter of Arab drama,” he said. “We are at the beginning of the road again, and we hope this drive will continue.”
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