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‘Ramy’ Is About One Millennial American Muslim — And Everyone’s Racist Uncles

Source: NPR

Stories of first-generation Americans tend to stress the same struggles. How do you fit in with your peers when your parents aren’t assimilating? How do you balance your instinct to rebel against your parents with your awareness of what they sacrificed to get here?

A new TV series called Ramy addresses many of those issues. Its namesake character is an Egyptian-American millennial in his 20s grappling with being a practicing Muslim. He’s also struggling to blend his religious beliefs with 21st century life in the U.S: praying, dating, working, drinking, relating to your parents. It’s complicated.

The show is out on Hulu, and it’s co-written and co-created by Ramy Youssef, an actor and stand-up comedian. He based the main character on his own experiences growing up in suburban New Jersey as a Muslim who considers himself religious.

“I would say it’s all very emotionally true,” Youssef says. “I tried to imagine a character that didn’t have a creative outlet. In real life, I have these creative outlets, and I have really clear conversations with my parents. But this is a little bit removed from that, and just a little bit more at the base level of emotion. So he’s a little more stunted, and I wanted to write from that place.”

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