#mo amer

The world will always try to tear us down. And when they do, we smile. Because we know who we are.

Mo Season 1 won hearts as it introduced viewers to Mo Najjar (co-creator and executive producer Mo Amer), a Palestinian refugee desperately trying to keep his life — and family — together in Houston, as he attempts to secure asylum. The heartfelt comedy series, inspired by Amer’s own life, is a rare show that mines the difficulties of interfaith relationships and immigration struggles alongside the comedy of finicky cat owners. Luckily for fans who fell in love with Mo’s complicated world, it’s about to return. Mo has been renewed for a second season, and it’ll arrive on Jan. 30, 2025. 

TV became a lot more interesting to me when the comedy shows started blending genres and fluctuating tones into drama pretty often. And that gives us shows like Mo.

Hilarious and absurd comedy, frustrating but lovable characters, emotional moments that hit HARD, and some much needed representation in numerous ways. Netflix needs more of this.

I recommend for anyone who’s into the modern dramedies like Atlanta, Dave, and especially Ramy (not just for the obvious reason of Arab representation, but because Mo and Ramy created the show Mo together).

“We ask that, as President of the United States, you call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost,” it reads. “More than 5,000 people have been killed in the last week and a half – a number any person of conscience knows is catastrophic. We believe all life is sacred, no matter faith or ethnicity and we condemn the killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians.”

"Of course — Astros hat equals two-state solution!"

MO (2022–2025): Charming if contrivance-heavy Netflix sitcom about a Palestinian refugee (comedian Mo Amer) who's spent most of his life in Houston, Texas, working under-the-table jobs and side hustles while waiting out his family's endlessly delayed asylum claim and dismaying his mother (Farah Bsieso) by dating a Catholic Chicana mechanic (Teresa Ruiz). (One of the show's minor pleasures is watching the main character code-switch fluidly between English, Arabic, and Spanish.)

Amer is a likeable lead, and it's great to see Palestinian characters treated with such warmth and sympathy, as well as a bluntness about the occupation that's rare in any U.S. media. (How often does one hear the word "Nakba" on American TV?) However, while the story is partly autobiographical, the level of over-the-top incidental plot contrivance is high, and even a mostly comedic treatment of the horrors of the American immigration machine can be a lot for this format. The show also leans too hard on some standard-issue sitcom tropes about over-aged adolescents who just need to grow up (which feels a tad forced given that most of Mo's problems can't be solved that way), and I found the treatment of Mo's autistic older brother Sameer (Omar Elba) cliched and condescending; I wanted to see more of their older sister Nadia (Cherien Dabis), who has solved her residency problem by marrying a well-meaning Canadian goober.

The moving finale has Mo, Sameer, and their mother finally returning to Palestine shortly before October 7.