This Ramadan drama season highlights a new talent in directing, the Syrian actor-filmmaker Sadeer Massoud, in one of the best TV series of the season: Ain Sehriya (Magic Eye), his fourth project in television drama, besides his work as an actor. On Ain Sehriya Massoud, who graduated from the directing department at the Lebanese International University, collaborated with the rising star Essam Omar and the established talent Bassem Samra. The series, with its intriguing title and a theme song by Wegz, tackles topics of surveillance and invasion of privacy, highlighted by a symbolic shot of looking through a peephole, leading to terrifying worlds controlled by scandal and blackmail.
It is the story of Adel (Essam Omar), a young engineer specialising in installing surveillance cameras for a certified company as well as an Uber motorcycle driver. He lives with his mother, Nawal (Sama Ibrahim), and his brother, Hassan (Omar Sherif), who has an obsession with money and steals anything that comes his way. The irony is that, when Adel takes Hassan to psychiatrist to address the problem, Hassan manages to steal the doctor’s phone.
The plot kicks off when Adel is lured by a wealthy woman (played by Fedra) to install small, wireless cameras without her husband’s knowledge to record his infidelity. This scheme leads to a murder, and at that moment, a mysterious figure, Zaki (Basem Samra), appears out of nowhere to sooth Adel and resolve the situation. The audience and Adel are both confused about Zaki, whether he is there for good or evil. Zaki seems to be well-connected, able to secure Hassan’s release from the custody after he is accused of theft. He offers to help Adel spy on possible corrupt people involved in issues like expired foodstuffs and antiquities smuggling and he convinces him that together they will be helping to try them.
The drama is tightly woven, testifying to a strong script and spontaneous dialogue by Hisham Hilal, and the actors turn every scene into a live acting contest. Massoud’s directing techniques are brilliant, offering the viewer moments of relief and joy in simple scenes, as when Adel decides to throw a surprise birthday party for his mother and he decorates the rooftop of their building with simple balloons and lights creating a warm atmosphere with beautiful exterior shots of Cairo and its streets and exterior that go hand in hand with the technological theme, complemented by an effective musical score by Khaled Al-Qammar.
As the 15 episodes progress, it becomes clear that deeper understanding is on the horizon. Zaki, thoughtful and caring towards Adel, carries a deep wound from being estranged from his daughter Basma (Faten Al-Said), whom he watches without her knowing. Adel attempts to care for his mother, but after her passing, a brief encounter with a colleague at a law firm – which he joined deliberately to expose its owner’s corruption – reveals that the medicine she has been taken is part of a major pharmaceutical corruption case. Performances by Sama Ibrahim and Omar Sherif’s and first-time Jana Al-Ashkar in the role of Asmaa – the veterinarian helping Adel – are equally impressive.
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Despite a powerful and gripping opening that attracted the audience in the first episode, the TV series Al-Sett Mona Lisa (Ms. Mona Lisa), directed by Mohamed Ali, was disappointing enough for most viewers to feel let down four or five episodes in. In the opening scenes the protagonist Mona Lisa (played by Mai Omar), who had two husbands and is a murder victim, is a guest on the famous TV host Amr Adib’s programme, telling her story. This leads to a flashback.
Mona Lisa is a hotel chef who has lived with her uncle, his wife and daughter in Ismailia since the death of her mother; she feels the warmth of the family as if it were her own. She reunites with her childhood sweetheart Hassan (Ahmed Magdy) after he moves to Cairo, and when he finds out that she owns a plot of land that can potentially secure her a huge sum of money if she wins the lawsuit, he proposes to marry her. Hassan and his mother Samiha (Sawsan Badr) convince her and her family that they are extremely rich and live in a palace, and – in love – she is under the impression that her dreams are about to come true.
However, she later discovers that that image is fake; Hassan is neither wealthy nor noble but simply married her for her inheritance. On their wedding night, Mona Lisa is confronted with the reality of her husband and his mother and the small apartment they share with his paralysed father (Mahmoud Azab) and siblings in a crowded neighbourhood. The screenplay by Mohamed Sayed Beshir lacks any logic as to why that young woman should choose to settle for such a marriage, distancing herself from her own supportive family and lying to them about her new life, sometimes saying she is in Paris to prevent them from visiting her in Cairo.
Although based on a true story, as the opening credits tell us, the screenplay lacks structure, frequently resorting to shallow, quick fixes for major and controversial issues like violence towards women, the greedy husband who steals his wife’s money, the sister who works as a prostitute to bring him money, and the elder brother who ruined the family business and ran it to the ground with no sense of responsibility whatsoever. The screenplay also fails to give the characters convincing motives, making it seem like parody. With mechanical and repetitive dialogue, the cartoonish acting doesn’t help, either, with two many surprises and pointlessly draining exchanges in each episode.
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Capitalising on the success of Kamel Al-Addad (Full House), with its two seasons over the last couple of years, screenwriter Rana Abul-Reish and director Khaled Al-Halafawi along with actor Dina Al-Sherbiny return with Etnen Gherna (Two Other People), also starring Asser Yassin. A crowd pleaser for its serene nature with the warmth of the family and the support of friends that appears on the screen, the show revolves around two main characters: Nour (Dina Al-Sherbiny) and Hassan (Asser Yassin).
They live in different worlds. Hassan is a strict university professor and athletic coach who prefers solitude and struggles after his divorce. Nour is a famous actor paying the price of her stardom in the constant invasion of her privacy in addition to her father and brother disowning her after she chose this career, constantly searching for an escape from the pressures of fame and the merciless expectations of society.
When Hassan and Nour meet, they are both at a very bleak moment in their lives. Hassan encounters Nour at his house, when his sister Alia (Nour Ihab) brings her over after she attempts to end her life after her father dies and her brother refuses to let her attend the funeral. Hassan is against the idea of letting her stay as a house guest but, little by little, they are involved with each other in a challenging relationship where each is scared to start the relationship.
Abul-Reish manages to present an original screenplay with heart-to-heart dialogues creating the required warmth and coherence and an intelligent approach to some controversial issues, especially the rejection by Nour’s father and brother of her acting career. The talent of director Khaled El-Halfawy and his clear vision makes this one of the most compelling series of the season. The performance of Yassin and Al-Sherbiny is harmonious and spontaneous; Al-Sherbiny has been in top form since last year’s Kamel Al-Addad, with a brilliant performance in La Turad wala Tustabdal (No Return or Exchange) released nearly two months ago opposite the talented actor Ahmed Al-Saadany. Both Sahar Ramy and Nour Ihab are suited to the roles of Hassan’s mother and sister, and together with friends Shahira (Fadwa Abed) and Maha (Nardin Farag), they add to the warm ambiance of the whole series.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 5 March, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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