In the nominations for the 72nd Television Academy’s Emmy Awards announced Tuesday, Egyptian-American actor Ramy Youssef received three nominations for his Hulu show Ramy.
The show recently released its second season, with supporting actor Mahershala Ali (Moonlight, Green Book) as Sheikh Malik, a role for which he received the nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
Youssef himself received two nominations, his first being Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, for his titular character as Ramy. He is joined in the category by well-known actors such as Don Cheadle, Anthony Anderson, Eugene Levy, Ted Danson, and Michael Douglas. He was also nominated for outstanding directing for a comedy series for an episode of the series.
“There’s so many more stories that that could be told so it excites me for the bigger picture, one that doesn’t even include me,” Youssef told The Hollywood Reporter on the show’s inclusion in the awards.
The show tackles religion, culture and a first-generation American’s life growing up in New Jersey, with controversial themes like sex, marriage and infidelity.
Ramy Youssef is a first-generation American from New Jersey whose Egyptian parents moved to the U.S. in the 80s. He started his career as a stand-up comedian after attending acting classes. He created the series Ramy to add more visibility to Arab American Muslims on screen.
Earlier this year, Youssef won a Best Performance Golden Globe award for his role in the first season of the series.
The series, which was recently renewed for a third season, features well-known Arab actors including Hiam Abbass, Amr Waked, Laith Nakli, May Calamawy and Rosaline Elbay.
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[…] have never even set foot in an Arab country or don’t understand the culture. As evidenced by Ramy Youssef’s success with his show “Ramy”, there has been an evident push from the industry to be inclusive […]
[…] show have never even set foot in an Arab country or don’t understand the culture. As evidenced by Ramy Youssef’s success with his show “Ramy”, there has been an evident push from the industry to be inclusive of […]