Hey streamers 👋
On Wednesday morning, I opened Netflix in UAE and saw Jinn Wedding at #1.
Under the artwork was a little red label: “Recently Added.” Recently added, yes. But new? The Kuwaiti platform Shasha had aired that same story in February, during Ramadan.
A week earlier, my NETFLIX in MENA agent had flagged Obsess, another Kuwaiti thriller from Shasha.
It was only #8 in the UAE, but it had made the weekly Top 10 in all six Gulf countries at once. I wanted to know what else I’d missed by looking at Netflix from UAE.
The surprise was an Egyptian series. Roses & Chocolates had premiered on Yango Play last year, then reached Netflix’s weekly Top 10 in several of the MENA markets I track in June.
Another Shasha’s Ramadan drama Years of Darkness also reached Netflix Top 10 in August and September.
Two local platforms had already given these stories a first release. Months later, both series were charting on Netflix.
Read on to learn about:
What I would have missed about the UAE’s #8 show if my agent hadn’t checked the other five Gulf charts.
Where two originals from Yango Play and Shasha found a place in Netflix’s Top 10 months after their premieres.
How Shasha, OSN+ and Netflix show the same episodes.
Why Morocco’s #4 caught my eye more than the #1 I saw in UAE.