Mo Amer took inspiration from his own life for his Netflix comedy series Mo, co-created by Ramy Youssef, which follows a Palestinian refugee seeking asylum and U.S. citizenship in Houston. The series premiered in August on the streamer and quickly received acclaim for being one of the first American TV series to feature a Palestinian-American refugee protagonist. It also scored a Gotham Award for Breakthrough Series Under 40 Minutes.
The first episode, titled “Hamoodi,” is the latest installment of It Starts on the Page, Deadline’s annual series that highlights the scripts that serve as the creative backbones of the buzzy shows that will define the TV awards season. The scripts in our series are all being submitted for Emmy Awards consideration this year and have been selected by Deadline using criteria that includes critical acclaim, selecting from a wide range of networks and platforms and a mix of established and lesser-known shows.
Mo, which stars Amer in the titular role, follows Mo Najjar, a fictional Palestinian refugee who flees Kuwait with his mother Yusra (Farah Bsieso) and brother Sameer (Omar Elba) after the start of the Gulf War. The family finally lands in Texas, where they start the years-long struggle of securing asylum. Throughout each episode, the series seeks to shed light on many of the hardships immigrants face in the U.S. while on their path to citizenship.
“Hamoodi,” written by Amer and Youssef and directed by Solvan “Slick” Naim, sees Mo lose his job at a mobile store because he doesn’t have a work permit. The episode follows him as he searches for a new job and sets up the rest of the season as he and his family await their asylum request.
Click below to read the script.
