Ramy Youssef's series is inspired by his own life
Photo:Chris Pizzello / Getty Images
SPIEGEL: Mr. Youssef, when your autobiographical comedy series "Ramy" started in the USA, it was initially little more than an insider tip, but has since won numerous awards. What was your concern when you started working?
Ramy Youssef: Above all, I wanted to bring a character onto the screen that I had never seen there before: a young, Western man of Muslim faith to whom his religion means as much as the values of the society in which he grew up. Someone like myself, because that didn't seem to exist in other series. Whenever Muslims showed up there, they were always just terrorists.
SPIEGEL: Religion and belief - these are topics that not everyone understands as a joke. Worried about how your comedy series would be received?
Youssef: Sure, big ones. Not just in terms of whether the audience thinks it's funny. But mainly because I knew that we were trying to initiate a conversation with "Ramy" that has not yet been conducted in this form. And I had no illusions that in such cases there are always a lot of very different emotions involved. Uneasiness, annoyance, outrage - I expected that as much as I was expecting gratitude, relief and enthusiasm.
SPIEGEL: But the latter seems to have prevailed.
Youssef: There were also negative reactions. How can they be avoided when we put topics such as sexuality, equality or racism on the agenda, always in the context of the Muslim-American experience? But overall we happily inspired more people than offended them. And even some who are upset about the series seem to tune in again and again. The other day someone wrote that he hated the series, especially the tenth episode of the second season that made him angry. When I only thought: For the fact that you allegedly find "Ramy" so terrible, you stuck with it for a long time.
SPIEGEL: One of the series' biggest fans is Oscar winner Mahershala Ali, who you then gave a role in the second season.
Youssef: He contacted me because he liked the first season so much. He is a practicing Muslim himself and appreciated that "Ramy" is about someone who really deals with his beliefs. We had a great chat and he said I should get in touch with someone he could do for me. A few weeks later I called and asked if he might be interested in one or two of the new episodes or two. In the end, it became a storyline that runs through the entire second season.
SPIEGEL: Allegedly you also wanted to win over ex-teen star Lindsay Lohan for a guest appearance. As a gag?
Youssef: No, that was a real concern for me. Because I think Lindsay is a comedic genius and a great actress. She also has a keen interest in Islam and the Middle East; supposedly she even wanted to convert one day. I had a great idea for an episode that she could have brought her own experiences into. Unfortunately our contact broke off again. I'm worried that she might have taken my request as a joke. But I want to try and maybe get her for the third season.
SPIEGEL: In one of the new episodes that revolves around Ramy's mother Maysa, you address a highly political issue: naturalization. How do you decide which topics to focus on?
Youssef: Actually, it's never really about making a political statement. Said episode is also not designed as an anti-Trump commitment, even if Maysa says: "Fuck this President." For my co-authors and me, the starting point is much more the characters themselves. What drives them, what are they worried about? In this case, I had to think of my own mother, who also used to live in the USA without having the citizenship. She wanted to be able to vote at some point. That also seemed suitable for my serial mother. But I never choose topics that I impose on the characters, I prefer to develop the stories from their personalities.
SPIEGEL: How much similarity does the series Ramy have with you?
Youssef: Let me put it this way: Even in the first season he was not a copy of myself, but rather a variation that is congruent in a few places. In the new episodes, the distance between me and him has grown even bigger. I really enjoyed giving fiction even more space, and yet of course there is still a lot of topics and questions that concern me. Even if I hope that I am a bit further on some points myself - and not quite as self-centered as he is.
Icon: The mirror
