CAIRO: Netflix will on Thursday debut its first Egyptian television series “Paranormal,” a major step in the streaming service’s Middle Eastern strategy.
The series is based on Egyptian novelist Ahmed Khaled Tawfik’s books about a doctor whose lifelong scientific convictions are suddenly called into question. His critically acclaimed novels in Arabic have sold more than 15 million copies.
“Our plan is: invest in Arab creators, in Arab production, in Arab content. We have announced four projects, plus ‘Paranormal’,” said Ahmed Sharkawi, director of Arabic and African original series at Netflix.
Paranormal centers around Refaat Ismail, a cynical doctor with a dark wit and whose convictions about the natural world are put to the test when he begins to experience paranormal activities.
“This is one of my life’s projects. I loved (the novels) since I was a kid ... We’ve been trying to get (a series) out since 2006, so finally it has been shown to the audience,” said Amr Salama, co-producer on the show along with Mohamed Hefzy.
Egypt was historically dubbed the “Hollywood of the Middle East” and produces the most Arabic films and television series which are viewed widely across the region.
“We are on a global platform... so this is an opportunity that is different from any other opportunity we’ve worked on. We can now have fans from other regions, other countries, who speak other languages,” said Ahmed Amin who plays the show’s protagonist.
Netflix has said it expects to complete shooting over 150 productions by the end of the year and that it would release more original programming in each quarter of 2021 compared with 2020.
Netflix to debut its first Egyptian original series ‘Paranormal’
https://arab.news/gu8fn
Netflix to debut its first Egyptian original series ‘Paranormal’
- Paranormal centers around Refaat Ismail, a cynical doctor with a dark wit
- Netflix has said it expects to complete shooting over 150 productions by the end of the year
Trending: BBC report suggests sexual abuse and torture in UAE-run Yemeni prisons
- The investigation was produced by British-Yemeni BBC journalist Nawal Al-Maghafi
LONDON: A recent BBC video report diving into what it says was UAE-run prison in Yemen has drawn widespread attention online and raised fresh questions about the role of the emirates in the war-torn country.
The report, published earlier this month and recently subtitled in Arabic and shared on social media, alleged that the prison — located inside a former UAE military base — was used to detain and torture detainees during interrogations, including using sexual abuse as a method.
The investigation was produced by British-Yemeni BBC journalist Nawal Al-Maghafi, who toured the site, looking into cells and what appear to be interrogation rooms.
Al-Maghafi said the Yemeni government invited the BBC team to document the facilities for the first time.
A former detainee, speaking anonymously, described severe abuse by UAE soldiers: “When we were interrogated, it was the worst. They even sexually abused us and say they will bring in the doctor. The ‘so-called’ doctor was an Emirati soldier. He beat us and ordered the soldiers to beat us too. I tried to kill myself multiple times to make it end.”
Yemeni information minister, Moammar al Eryani also appears in the report, clarifying that his government was unable to verify what occurred within sites that were under Emirati control.
“We weren’t able to access locations that were under UAE control until now,” he said, adding that “When we liberated it (Southern Yemen), we discovered these prisons, even though we were told by many victims that these prisons exist, but we didn't believe it was true.”
زارت بي بي سي مواقع داخل قواعد سابقة لدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة في اليمن، حيث يقول محتجزون إنهم تعرضوا لسوء المعاملة. pic.twitter.com/BfS5GRxULp
— BBC News عربي (@BBCArabic) January 23, 2026
The BBC says it approached the UAE government for comment, however Abu Dhabi did not respond to its inquiries.
Allegations of secret detention sites in southern Yemen are not new. The BBC report echoes earlier reporting by the Associated Press (AP), which cited hundreds of men detained during counterterrorism operations that disappeared into a network of secret prisons where abuse was routine and torture severe.
In a 2017 investigation, the AP documented at least 18 alleged clandestine detention sites — inside military bases, ports, an airport, private villas and even a nightclub — either run by the UAE or Yemeni forces trained and backed by Abu Dhabi.
The report cited accounts from former detainees, relatives, civil rights lawyers and Yemeni military officials.
Following the investigation, Yemen’s then-interior minister called on the UAE to shut down the facilities or hand them over, and said that detainees were freed in the weeks following the allegations.
The renewed attention comes amid online speculation about strains between Saudi Arabia and the UAE over Yemen.
