But it’s what the series does with that premise that stands out. Youssef and his co-creators Ari Katcher and Ryan Welch bring a freshness to it that we haven’t seen before, which sets the series apart from anything else around.
Ramy lives in northern New Jersey with his parents Maysa and Farouk (Hiam Abbass and Amr Waked) and his younger sister Dena (May Calamawy),who couldn’t be less like the cliché of the dutiful Muslim daughter.
It’s less a series about a first generation American Muslim trying to negotiate a society rife with racism and suspicion of Muslims (although that does crop up, particularly in an episode that flashes back to 9/11) than about him trying to fit comfortably into his own skin.