02/02/2022 According to reports, the Arabic adaptation of Suits is all set to debut during the upcoming Ramadan season on West Asia satellite pay-TV, the Orbit Showtime Network (OSN), and on Egyptian broadcaster UMS. NBCUniversal Formats, a division of Universal Studio Group, has teamed up with Cairo-based media production company TVision and OSN, as well as Egypt’s UMS, to produce the Arabic redo of the show. Shooting began in January on the first two seasons, comprising 30 episodes. The Arabic-language “Suits” is slated to start playing on OSN and its streaming app Watchit across West Asia, the region also referred to as the Middle East, during the region’s upcoming Ramadan TV season, starting April 2. The Arabic-language remake features a starry line-up including Asser Yassin as Harvey; Ahmed Dawood as Mike, Saba Mubarak as Jessica, Reem Mostafa as Donna, Tara Emad as Rachel, and Mohamed Shahin as Louis. Sangeeta Desai CEO of OSN commented on LinkedIn post "We consistently promise our fans fresh entertainment and stories told in unique and novel ways, and this new OSN Original is testament to this. The local talent that is driving this production both on and off-screen is immense, and I’m proud to be bringing to life a version of this story that is unique and will resonate with fans across this region." In the U.S. “Suits” ended its nine-season run in 2019 having spawned 134 episodes, two remakes (in Korea and Japan) - the Korean version (which has been aired in 2018 on the F-T-A on KBS2) went from #10 to #3 in the Nielsen ratings during the course of the season, ending with an 10.7% share nationwide. “ ‘Suits’ is one of the most popular TV shows in the world, and we are thrilled to be adapting it for Middle Eastern audiences and partnering once again with our friends at TVision,” said Enrique Guilleìn, executive VP of commercial strategy and international development at Universal Studio Group. Nick Forward, managing director of streaming and chief content officer at OSN, added: “We are delighted to be working with TVision, especially regional storytellers like Tarek, and investing in local adaptions to bring this new version of Suits exclusively to our subscribers across the Middle East.” The Arabic version of “Suits” is being written by Egyptian multi-hyphenate Mohamed Hefzy, the producer-writer who also heads the Cairo Film Festival, and Yasser Abdel Mageed. The show is being directed by Myriam Ahmadi, and produced by TVision Media founder and CEO Tarek El Ganainy. OSN and UMS are sharing the rights in Egypt, and currently slated to premiere on OSN and the streaming app Watchit across the Middle East starting April 2.
