Egyptian-American comedian, filmmaker, and media personality Kareem Rahma announced on Tuesday, 12 February, that his viral Instagram series ‘Subway Takes’ might be coming home to Cairo.
Rahma, 39, was invited as a special guest speaker to the launch of CairoScene and El Fasla’s yearly Impact List which celebrates Egyptians who have shaped the country’s culture, industry, and public life over the last year. At the event, in an onstage interview, Rahma hinted at what could be the show’s next destination.
“I think the next stop will be Cairo for ‘Subway Takes’,” he said, before adding, “This is the first time I’ve ever said that out loud… But here’s the proof.”
The show, born out of the New York City Subway in 2023, has a simple premise: a snappy conversation on a moving train carriage. It consists of Rahma, wearing his signature oversized blazer and sporty sunglasses, asking a guest to share their “take”, a provocative or unusual opinion, with which the host then 100% agrees or disagrees. Over the last two years, it has become one of Instagram and TikTok’s most popular interview series.
The crux of the show is not just the guest’s defence, but also the unscripted humour with which Rahma responds. It skyrocketed in popularity, reaching over a million followers, during the New York mayoral election, when Rahma’s ability to connect with working-class New Yorkers of every calibre led him into the global spotlight.
Born in Imbabah, Cairo, to Egyptian parents, Rahma emigrated to the United States with his family when he was a child, settling in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Now he is taking ‘Subway Takes’ back home with him to the Cairo Metro. It is not the first time the show has left New York for an international stage – Rahma has held his train carriage interviews in London, Paris, and Berlin, among others. However, it will be the first time Rahma brings the show back to his roots.
‘Subway Takes’ may be Rahma’s most popular venture by far, but his first breakout success was the 2022 series ‘Keep The Meter Running’. The show featured a one-off episode in Cairo – the one and only time Rahma has posted himself speaking Arabic in his home city. If ‘Subway Takes’ does arrive in the capital, it wouldn’t just be another international stop. It would be a full-circle moment.
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