Here’s a small spoiler for season two of Mo – Netflix’s Peabody Award-winning series about a Palestinian family living in Texas – the final episode ends on October 6, 2023.
This, its co-creator and star Mo Amer explains to The National, was a statement of defiant intent. “I opted out of talking about October 7, but it wasn't opting out of talking about the event,” Amer explains. "It was opting about the whole show being swallowed up by this event. There’s 80 years to talk about before that happened.”
Mo, of course, has never existed to be a history lesson nor a lecture on current events. From the start, it has been a series that asserts the humanity of its Palestinian characters, exploring individual personalities and niche interests that extend far beyond identity – but never forgetting that identity either, even for a moment.
That is why the second season of Amer’s show, which releases on Thursday on the platform, begins where it left off. His character Mo Najjar is stranded in Mexico unable to get to his home in Texas to see the woman he loves, having spent most of his life unable to gain legal residency.
It’s a situation that leads to laugh-out-loud slapstick comedy – Amer is a comedian, after all. However, it’s also a reflection of the dispossessed existence of Palestinians around the world, who have been cast out of their homeland since 1948 – Amer being one of them. “My experience has been consistent, as has my family’s," he adds. "That’s why I didn’t want to talk about October 7 – this has been going on for quite some time."
Nevertheless, Amer couldn’t resist commenting on certain aspects of what life has been like for Palestinians living in the diaspora since the Israel-Gaza war began – though indirectly. In perhaps the most powerful scene of the season, Mo’s mother Yusra and sister Nadia, played by Farah Bseiso and Cherien Dabis respectively, discuss Yusra’s obsession with watching the news from Palestine, bearing witness to Israel’s atrocities against their people.
Nadia tells her mother: “We’re more than our pain and suffering, Mama. But you wouldn’t know it watching this news.”
Amer admits that this was inspired by his own family as the war continued. He says: “I would have to pull myself away. I’d say, rather than read this, I’ll call my cousins. I’ll speak to my aunts. I’d rather hear their voice and have some comfort. But my mom was just obsessed and would watch 24/7. We all did it over the last year, but that’s also been our every day. Part of our lives is waking up in the morning and seeing what’s going on over there.”
The scene, which Amer says is one of his favourites of the show, was filmed with the two sitting on an old wooden dock by a lake. Amer was behind the camera, directing the scene, as he did much of the second season – after not having directed a single episode of the first.
“I’m just so happy that I was blessed to have them, and I was able to direct them and bring them there,” Amer says, wiping the tears from his eyes. “I remember looking around and seeing that everybody was crying. Including myself, I was just a mess. I was like: ‘We nailed it. Let’s keep going.’ That was a special moment for me.”
In many ways, the scene proves how vital Mo is in this moment, a time in which the plight of Palestinians has perhaps never been more conscious in the public mind. Since October 7, people around the world have woken up to the tragedy, which has caused a renewed interest in stories from Palestine, both old and new.
And while many of those stories across film and television are beautifully told, few capture the everyday humanity that Mo does. Bseiso says: “I wish our show could make a change. What I love about this show is that it educates in a respectful way. It says a lot in a peaceful, smart, kind, loving and passionate way. There’s no hatred. There’s no violence.
“We need to give hope for our people, and we need to tell a nice story. Hatred will only lead to more hatred. Our show offers hope.”
While nearly the entirety of the show is set in North America, the last episode finds its lead characters finally able to go to Palestine – for the first time in Mo’s life. In it, they visit their relatives and their family’s land in the West Bank, scenes full of hope and joy – scenes that are often interrupted by the realities of life under occupation.
The sequences in the episode are perhaps the closest the show gets to true autobiography. Amer himself got his US passport in 2009 and immediately travelled to Palestine. “I weaved in my most personal experience, and what it was like for me when I went back for the first time,” says Amer. "That’s genuinely what happened to me."
In one scene, Mo visits the mosque in his family’s village, trying his hand at the call to prayer over the loudspeaker. The imam hears him, coming into the room to inquire who he is. When Mo explains who he is and what family he comes from, the imam is shocked – as it was Mo’s late father who installed the sound system that Mo had just used before he left Palestine.
The scene really happened to Amer during his 2009 visit. “I wanted to make sure that this scene was as realistic as possible, which is why I wanted people to get a peek into how I really felt in that moment,” says Amer.
While the difficulties of actually shooting Palestine meant that most of the interior scenes and some of the exteriors were filmed in Malta, the rest of the exterior, Amer says, was filmed in Palestine. “We had to set a splinter unit to get different shots there," he adds.
The Palestine-set episode, one of the longest in the series, features a range of tones with moments of heartfelt nostalgia juxtaposed with scenes of Israeli settlers tear-gassing Mo and his family as they attempt to protect their olive trees, for example.
He adds: “It was really hard. You’re picking at a scab. You’re picking at memories at a very difficult time, with everything that’s going on. It was important to be as honest as possible, as grounded as possible. I just had to dig deep and push my own feelings aside and make sure that we made a realistic portrayal of what it’s like to be in the West Bank as a Palestinian.”
In 2023, it was announced the second season would be the last for Mo. But Amer himself has not given up hope – hinting that perhaps they could explore what life was like as a Palestinian in America after October 7 in a potential third season.
But regardless of whether the show continues or not, this will not be the end of Amer as a creator, as the show has helped the comedian find his footing as both a writer and a director, something that he plans to continue long into the future.
“I’m just getting started,” says Amer. “I’m still Mo, still cooking. If this is the last season, I’ve still got so much to do. There’s so much to tell. I have so many scripts behind me. I’ve got another comedy special to film. It doesn’t end here.”
Mo season two is now streaming on Netflix
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More on Quran memorisation:
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GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Porsche Macan T: The Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 265hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,800-4,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Speed: 0-100kph in 6.2sec
Top speed: 232kph
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
On sale: May or June
Price: From Dh259,900
UAE squad
Men's draw: Victor Scvortov and Khalifa Al Hosani, (both 73 kilograms), Sergiu Toma and Mihail Marchitan (90kg), Ivan Remarenco (100kg), Ahmed Al Naqbi (60kg), Musabah Al Shamsi and Ahmed Al Hosani (66kg)
Women’s draw: Maitha Al Neyadi (57kg)
RESULTS
2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,000m
Winner: AF Mozhell, Saif Al Balushi (jockey), Khalifa Al Neyadi (trainer)
2.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Majdi, Szczepan Mazur, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
3pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: AF Athabeh, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
3.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: AF Eshaar, Bernardo Pinheiro, Khalifa Al Neyadi
4pm: Gulf Cup presented by Longines Prestige (PA) Dh150,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Al Roba’a Al Khali, Al Moatasem Al Balushi, Younis Al Kalbani
4.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Apolo Kid, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muahiri
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
RESULTS
6.30pm UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) US$100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Final Song, Christophe Soumillon (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (Turf) 1,000m
Winner Almanaara, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.
7.40pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Grand Argentier, Brett Doyle, Doug Watson.
8.15pm Meydan Challenge Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Major Partnership, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.50pm Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Gladiator King, Mickael Barzalona, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m
Winner Universal Order, Richard Mullen, David Simcock.
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Honeymoonish
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Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule
Thursday December 27
Men's quarter-finals
Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm
Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm
Women's exhibition
Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm
Friday December 28
5th place play-off 3pm
Men's semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm
Saturday December 29
3rd place play-off 5pm
Men's final 7pm
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
