Mo (TV series)

Mo (stylized with all uppercase) is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on August 24, 2022 on Netflix. The series stars Mo Amer as the titular character. The series is loosely based on Amer's own life as a Palestinian refugee descendant living in Houston, Texas. It is co-created by Ramy Youssef and also stars Farah Bsieso, Teresa Ruiz and Tobe Nwigwe.

Mo
Promotional poster for the first season
Genre	Comedy drama
Created by	Mo Amer Ramy Youssef
Starring	Mo Amer Farah Busies Teresa Ruiz Tobe Nwigwe Omar Elba
Composers	Common Karriem Riggins Patrick Warren
Country of origin	United States
Original languages	English Arabic Spanish
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	16
Production
Executive producers	Mo Amer Ramy Youssef Ravi Nandan Hallie Sekoff Solvan "Slick" Naim Harris Danow Luvh Rakhe
Running time	23–31 minutes
Production companies	A24 Mo Productions Cairo Cowboy netflix
Original release
Network	Netflix
Release	August 24, 2022 (2022-08-24) – January 30, 2025 (2025-01-30)

In January 2023, Netflix renewed the series for a second and final season, which premiered on January 30, 2025.^[1][2]

Season 2 of Mo was released to "widespread acclaim" is one of "Netflix's most celebrated comedies", and was called "Essential Viewing" by Mashable.^[3][4]

The first season of the show has a 100% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.^[5]

Premise

Mo follows a Palestinian refugee descendent living in Houston, Texas, who is currently seeking asylum and citizenship in the United States.^[6]

Cast and characters

Main

• Mo Amer as Mohammed "Mo" Najjar, the protagonist
  • Ahmad Rajeh as young Mohammed "Mo" Najjar (season 1)
• Teresa Ruiz as Maria, Mo's girlfriend
• Farah Bsieso as Yusra Najjar, Mo's mother
• Tobe Nwigwe as Nick, Mo's childhood friend
• Moayad Alnefaie as Hameed, Mo's friend
• Michael Y. Kim as Chien, Mo's tattooist and lean dealer (season 1)
• Lee Eddy as Lizzie Horowitz, the Najjars' immigration lawyer
• Cherien Dabis as Nadia Robinson (née Najjar), Mo's sister
  • Mariah Albishah as young Nadia Najjar (season 1)
• Omar Elba as Sameer Najjar, Mo's brother

Guest

• Paul Wall as a court room security guard^[7]
• Bun B as a Catholic priest listening to Mo's confession^[8]
• Bassem Youssef as Abood Rahman, mobile store owner
• Matt Rife as embassy counter worker in the business suit
• Simon Rex as Guy, Maria's love interest and Mo's rival
• Macon Blair as Jack
• Johanna Braddy as Austin
• Solvan Naim as Malone, ICE agent
• Liza Koshy as Talia
• Slim Thug as fake bag customer

• Ralph Barbosa as other Mexican street vendor

Episodes

Series overview

Season	Episodes		Originally released
1	8		August 24, 2022 (2022-08-24)
2	8		January 30, 2025 (2025-01-30)

Season 1 (2022)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	1	"Hamoodi"	Solvan "Slick" Naim	Mohammed Amer & Ramy Youssef	August 24, 2022 (2022-08-24)
2	2	"Yamo"	Solvan "Slick" Naim	Adel Kamal	August 24, 2022 (2022-08-24)
3	3	"Remorse"	Solvan "Slick" Naim	Luvh Rahke and Azhar Usman	August 24, 2022 (2022-08-24)
4	4	"Moola"	Solvan "Slick" Naim	Harris Danow	August 24, 2022 (2022-08-24)
5	5	"Tombstone"	Solvan "Slick" Naim	Nichole Beattie and Sophia Lear	August 24, 2022 (2022-08-24)
6	6	"Holy Matrimony"	Solvan "Slick" Naim	Luvh Rahke and Harris Danow	August 24, 2022 (2022-08-24)
7	7	"Testimony"	Solvan "Slick" Naim	Story by : Adel Kamal and Iturri Sosa Teleplay by : Adel Kamal	August 24, 2022 (2022-08-24)
8	8	"Vamos"	Solvan "Slick" Naim	Mohammed Amer & Sophia Lear	August 24, 2022 (2022-08-24)

Season 2 (2025)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
9	1	"Oso Palestino (the Palestinian Bear)"	Mohammed Amer	Mohammed Amer, Chris Gabo, Ramy Youssef	January 30, 2025 (2025-01-30)
10	2	"Gone Fishing"	Solvan Naim	Harris Danow, Mohammed Amer, Ramy Youssef	January 30, 2025 (2025-01-30)
11	3	"Yes Chef, No Chef"	Solvan Naim	Azhar Usman, Mohammed Amer, Ramy Youssef	January 30, 2025 (2025-01-30)
12	4	"Hit the Road Jack"	Solvan Naim	Annas Salinas	January 30, 2025 (2025-01-30)
13	5	"Thank You Jesus"	Solvan Naim	Jacqui Rivera, Mohammed Amer, Ramy Youssef	January 30, 2025 (2025-01-30)
14	6	"Bandido de Tacos"	Solvan Naim	Chris Gabo, Mohammed Amer, Ramy Youssef	January 30, 2025 (2025-01-30)
15	7	"Field of Dreams"	Mohammed Amer	Luis Sivoli, Mohammed Amer, Ramy Youssef	January 30, 2025 (2025-01-30)
16	8	"A Call from God"	Mohammed Amer	Mohammed Amer, Harris Danow, Ramy Youssef	January 30, 2025 (2025-01-30)

Reception

Critical response

As of February 2025^[update] the first season of Mo holds a 100% rating and the second season holds a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.^[9]

The series has received critical acclaim for being one of the first major American television shows to portray a Palestinian-American refugee as the protagonist as well as highlighting the growing ethnic diversity of Houston.^{[10][11][12][13][14]}

Accolades

Accolades received by Mo

Award	Year	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
Gotham Awards	2022	Breakthrough Series (Under 40 Minutes)	Mo	Won	[15]
Independent Spirit Awards	2023	Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series	Mohammed Amer	Nominated	[16]
Peabody Awards	2022	Entertainment	Mo	Won	[17]