Fenjan Albalad

Fenjan Albalad (Arabic: فنجان البلد) is a satirical television series from Palestine, created and directed by Abdulrahman Thaher.^[1] It premiered in 2013 and features 3 seasons with a total of 60 standalone episodes, filmed in both Palestine and Jordan. A number of Palestinian and Arab actors featured in this series., and Some segments of the show are archived at the National Library of Jordan.^[2][3]

Fenjan Albalad
Poster of Fenjan Albalad (season 3) 2015
Genre	Drama | Black comedy | Satire
Written by	Abdulrahman Thaher
Directed by	Abdulrahman Thaher
Country of origin	Palestine
Original language	Arabic
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	60
Production
Executive producer	Fenjan Albalad Production
Production locations	Palestine Jordan
Original release
Network	Al Araby Television Network Roya TV
Release	2013 (2013) – 2015 (2015)

The first season was filmed in 2013 across various cities and villages in the West Bank, Palestine, and aired on Jordanian Roya TV. This season generated significant controversy due to its daring approach and sharp critique of the Palestinian Authority and corruption. No Palestinian TV was willing to air the series because of its sensitive content, leading to legal challenges for the director and writer Abdulrahman Thaher over certain provocative episodes, including The episode of "Al-Tabbash", in which the writer criticized the character of a minister. Some journalists at that time believed that the writer intended to indirectly refer to the Palestinian Minister of Endowments, Mahmoud Habbash, and the episode of "Valley of the Wolves", which dealt with the subject of the differences between the Palestinian parties, these episodes were covered in the media and news.^[4][5] This situation prompted the production team to relocate to Jordan to produce the next seasons.^[6][7]

The second season was filmed in 2014 in Jordan and also aired on Roya TV, which subsequently faced backlash from the Palestinian Authority, resulting in the closure of its West Bank office in protest against the critical content. Due to these pressures, Roya TV was unable to produce the third season.^[8]

in 2015, Director Abdulrahman Thaher partnered with Al-Araby Television Network in London to create and air the third season.^[9] One episode, titled “Qadh Al-Raees,” featured Thaher in a leading role and led to his arrest and trial upon his return to Palestine in 2020 for allegedly insulting the Palestinian Authority. His public trial attracted considerable media coverage and led to calls for his release from activists, journalists, and human rights defenders, ultimately resulting in his acquittal after a two-year legal battle.^[10][11]

Fenjan Albalad Seasons

Season	Episodes	Country	Crew	Cast	Production Companies	Network	Ref.
Season 2013	30	Palestine	Director Abdulrahman Thaher Screenwriter DOP Sameh Karim Production Manager Mahmud Rizik	Abdulrahman Thaher Mahmud Rizik Abdullah Nukhaili Musa Allawi Reem Sharha Lama Rabah Saleh Hamad	Executive Producer Fenjan Albalad Production Production services Wattan TV	Roya TV	[1][2][3]
Season 2014	15	Jordan	Director Abdulrahman Thaher Screenwriter DOP Jamal Al-Tamimi Production Manager Anwar Kaleel	Abdulrahman Thaher Mahmud Rizik Munther Khalil Khalil Mustafa Anwar Khaleel Yasmin Dalw Yehya Ibrahim Osama Kanaan Seem Mahasnah Fahed Hiwwadi	Executive Producer Fenjan Albalad Production Production services Apple Jo Dreamer Production	Roya TV	[6][12]
Season 2015	15	Jordan	Director Abdulrahman Thaher Screenwriter DOP Jamal Al-Tamimi Production Manager Mahmud Rizik	Abdulrahman Thaher Ola Yaseen Mahmud Rizik Abdullah Nukhaili Fahed Hiwwadi Yasmin Dalw Yehya Ibrahim Osama Kanaan	Executive Producer Fenjan Albalad Production Production services Apple Jo	Al Araby Television Network	[9]

External links

• Official Website
• Fenjan Albalad on IMDB
• Fenjan Albalad on TVDB
• Fenjan Albalad on MUBI