Dubai: A new Netflix series which has stirred controversy over its portrayal of Middle Eastern communities, looks set to be the first of many.
The streaming service’s first original series in the region, “Jinn,” is a coming-of-age supernatural drama, and despite strong reactions to its content the company is already gearing up for further productions.
VP of international originals at Netflix, Kelly Luegenbiehl, spoke to Arab News about the company’s involvement in the region.
She said potentially region-sensitive shots in the series were portraying only one version of teenage life, and the drama was not meant to be representative or generalized.
“For our local series, our first goal is to delight viewers from that country and that region,” she added.
The series is reported to have angered some Jordanians, who said the production included immoral portrayals of the community.
Luegenbiehl believes Netflix is able to create better options with each production, as the feedback it receives helps to inform future decisions.
“We are still (in the) early days here, but we are growing, and I think what is great about that is that we can see how audiences are responding to our local language content as well as our international content.”
The company is planning to release two other Middle East originals, “Al-Rawabi School for Girls” and “Paranormal.”
Although the launch dates have not yet been decided, Netflix is already casting actors for “Al-Rawabi School of Girls.”
Luegenbiehl revealed that the storytelling went beyond accepted norms. “The idea that storytelling has borders has gone away with the idea of Netflix.”
When defining a good story, she highlighted four features. Firstly, a completely new idea or original and captivating way of presenting a story that had been told before. Secondly, a clear vision and a strong voice of creators, thirdly, complex characters that could engage viewers, and finally, distinctive specificity and authenticity of a story.
She said the US company looked for good stories through various sources. Sometimes it reached out to filmmakers and creators, or people with ideas and stories approached Netflix. Company representatives also visited film and book festivals, and universities to look for stories worth telling.
“The creative talent in the region is really, really strong, so I think we will be continuing to produce things here in Arabic or other languages,” Luegenbiehl said.
“Jinn,” which premiered on Netflix on June 13, is a supernatural teenage drama which follows how Mira (Salma Malhas) and Keras (Hamzeh Okab) face Yassin (Sultan Alkhail) and Vera (Aysha Shahaltough) and try to stop the jinn from breaking into the human world.
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