First Muslim-American sitcom 'Ramy' gets Emmy nod

TV's highest honours announced nominations on Monday

LOS ANGELES:

Ramy Youssef is over the moon with his first Emmy nod. The co-creator and protagonist of the show, Ramy, was nominated for outstanding lead actor and outstanding directing in a comedy series. Co-star Mahershala Ali earned a nod for his season 2 supporting role. Ramy becomes the first Muslim American sitcom to score an Emmy nomination.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by ramy youssef (@ramy) on Jul 28, 2020 at 12:40pm PDT

In the show, Ramy Hassan (Youssef), a first-generation Egyptian American, struggles to balance his cultural and religious values alongside his American millennial ways. The Hulu show celebrates the Muslim faith while laying bare a host of community issues.

Although Ramy focuses on a Muslim American character, the show found a wide audience with millennials of diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds who could relate to the character's anxiety over his romantic life, career aspirations and overbearing parents.

Leading the pack

HBO’s dystopian superhero drama Watchmen and the 1960s comedy The Marvelous Mrs Maisel on Tuesday led an Emmy nominations list dominated by Netflix and what Variety said was a record number of Black actors. Watchmen scored 26 nods, including best-limited series, while Amazon Studio’s The Marvelous Mrs Maisel got 20.

Netflix led all platforms with a record 160 nominations for shows ranging from Stranger Things to Tiger King. It was followed by HBO with 107, including a surprise nod for Zendaya, the 23-year-old mixed-race star of teen drama “Euphoria.”

Schitt’s Creek, the sleeper hit comedy about a wealthy family forced to live in a rundown motel, scored 15 nods, including for best comedy series and its four main cast members.

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