Ramy Youssef's new comedy special More Feelings sets Middle East release date

Ramy Youssef’s comedy special will hit regional screens at the same time at the US, OSN confirmed to The National.

More Feelings will be available on OSN+ on March 23 simultaneously with US release on HBO Max. The highly anticipated stand-up show will be the US-Egyptian comedian’s second with HBO, following Feelings in 2019.

The special will have Youssef returning “to the stage to offer his unique reflections on a divided world”, the show’s description reads. It will have the comedian tackling topics ranging from the “unexpected perils” of charitable giving, the US presidential election and prayer, as well as a childhood book report that “changed the course of his life”.

“I’m done apologising,” Youssef says in the trailer. “I’m done saying that we’re peaceful.

“For 20 years we’ve had to prove to people that we’re safe, right? Every time you turn on CNN, there’s just like some Arab dude talking about how Islam means peace. You know that guy? But he’s always shouting it.

“He’s always like: ‘We come in peace!’ You’re like: ‘Bro, that’s the slogan for aliens.' That’s what aliens say before they take over the planet, bro.’ I’m done. I’m done saying sorry.”

Ramy Youssef: More Feelings is directed by Chris Storer, creator of The Bear. The special will be released days before Youssef appears on Saturday Night Live to host the sketch comedy show for the first time. Rapper Travis Scott has been billed as the musical act for the episode.

Storer was a director on the series Ramy before creating The Bear, which Youssef also directed an episode in season two of the show.

“I’m so excited that some people will watch Ramy and then discover The Bear, or watch The Bear and then discover Ramy, and then discover a show like Mo from Mo Amer,” he said in 2022. “We have a shared creative and spiritual language, and it truly feels like a collective, where we all have our hands in each other’s creations, and our personal bonds help nurture our creative ones. People always say that their cast and crew is ‘like a family,’ but for us it truly is.”

Youssef is perhaps best known for spearheading the Hulu show Ramy. The series, which released its third season in 2022, follows an Egyptian-American family in New Jersey as they confront spiritual, social and political challenges. While Youssef had previously appeared in shows and films, including Mr Robot with Rami Malek, it was Ramy that brought the comedian international recognition.

More recently, Youssef starred as Max McCandles in the film Poor Things, appearing alongside Emma Stone, who won the Oscar for Best Actress for her performance as Bella Baxter. Youssef was present during the Oscars ceremony and was one of the celebrities wearing the red Artists4Ceasefire pin. The pins call for a ceasefire in Gaza and seek to bring attention to the continuing atrocities.

“We’re calling for an immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza,” Youssef told Variety on the red carpet. “We’re calling for peace and justice, lasting justice for the people of Palestine.

“I think it’s a universal message for ‘let’s stop killing kids’. Let’s not be a part of more war. No one has ever looked back at war and thought a bombing campaign was a good idea. To be surrounded by so many artists who are willing to lend their voices. The list is growing, a lot of people are going to be wearing these pins tonight.

“There are a lot of talking heads on the news. This is a space of talking hearts.”

When asked whether he was hopeful there would be a ceasefire, Youssef said: “There has to be. It’s just taking so long. The [US] president has called for it.

“We need to look at ourselves and ask if the leadership supposedly thinks that should happen, why has it not happened? That’s what we’re all encouraging everyone to be vocal about.”

Ramy Youssef: More Feelings will be released on OSN+ on March 23