Despitestrong reviews,Ramypremiered last April very much under the radar as a truly one-of-a-kind series.
Well, a lot can change in a year.
Their call ended with theMoonlightandGreen Bookstar signing on for a substantial role inRamy.
Credit: Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu
For Youssef, it was a coup.
I think we were both just excited to talk to other humans.
RAMY YOUSSEF:[Laughs] Isn’t he the best dude?
Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu
He seems like it.
I’m sure it was a blast to get to work with him.
It was a dream scenario, of someone like him showing up on set.
It’s like a dream come true.
It’s been a year since season 1 premiered…
Literally, I think last Friday was one year since season 1 premiered.
So what have the last 365 or so days been like for you?
Kind of a whirlwind?
It hasn’t sunk in yet.
Like, we had a one-week gap between season 1 airing and then gearing up for season 2.
And I kind of even spent that gap doing press for the show and press for my special.
It’s really been nonstop, and so it hasn’t all sunk in.
But all these things happen in such small moments.
[Laughs] But it’s definitely been a rush.
When the show came out I was hearing from people that I never thought I would.
I was like, “What?!
What’s this dude in Nebraska doing watching my show?”
I really couldn’t believe it.
I think a big moment for me and my family was Egypt’s reaction to the Globe.
It was national news, like on all the big late-night shows and newspapers.
Like it was athing.
But then when my aunt is calling me from Cairo, that’s kind of next-level for my mind.
I remember watching at our office and I literally screamed, I was so excited and surprised.
The Globes are often so off-the-wall with their winners, but sometimes in cool ways.
It’s a weird balance, so that was fun to see.
It was so dope.
You mention getting emails from evangelical Christians in Nebraska.
Like everyone we’re studying with is obsessed."
And I ended up having dinner with them.
But it makes me really thankful.
People probably feel like they know you much more than if you were in a Marvel movie.
The show is literally calledRamy, and you’re Ramy.
Yeah, it’s really funny, man.
My show is a show that people have an opinion about.
That’s crazy that you would have such a problem with this and then yet watch all of it.
And season 2 is going to do that even more, and I think that’s great.
So I love it all.
Is there something that has come out of the show that you’re most proud of?
And I’ve heard that from Muslims and non-Muslims.
Because I think if your faith is strong, then a TV show certainly shouldn’t sway it.
It’s fing TV.
That to me means a lot more than anything else.
Going into season 2, did you have anything specific you wanted to accomplish?
I just wanted to put the Ramy character in much more of a pressure cooker.
Season 1 certainly has a plot, but it’s more vignette-y.
And I knew I wanted to do a story with a sheikh.
[Laughs] It became very clear.
It was amazing to get to go in this direction with him.
Talking to him, even he seemed surprised by his casting and the length of arc.
Like he was just calling to tell you how much he liked the show!
[Laughs] We also did this in like no time.
We were with him for like two and a half weeks.
The way we shot this season is one of the craziest things I’ve ever done.
It truly was madness, actual madness in the best ways, because it was so fun.
But I couldn’t have done it with anyone who wasn’t of the composure of him.
Not only his caliber as an actor, but also his disposition as a person.
It’s really rare.
Getting to show a sheikh and religious leader who feels like a real human was really important to me.
I just wanted it to be like a real human.
I think our relationship with the internet is way easier…
I mean, Hulu has been great from the jump, but I think we’re even more aligned.
And then this season it was just like a no-brainer.
That stuff to me is just really crucial, it helps make this family more well-rounded.
The pressure is certainly there and exists.
But I don’t create from wanting to fulfill that pressure because that is an impossible task.
So it’s both of those things.
It’s the nature of the thing at this point in time, and I’m okay with that.
I have a responsibility to do what I know to the best of my ability.
Season 1 is very much “Who am I?”
It’s very much the same thing with all of the family members.
So I just think it’s more intimate and more spiritual.
