For the first time in GCC television history, arrives a screen adaptation of a true story of a notorious 1980s criminal in Saudi Arabia — and the police’s efforts to bring him in.
The new series, dubbed ‘Rashash’, will launch on January 21 on Shahid VIP, a subscription video on demand service from MBC Group.
‘Rashash’, which will air a new one-hour episode every Thursday, is an eight-part Arabic series with English subtitles, created by British screenwriter Tony Jordan (‘EastEnders’) and co-written by Sheikha Suha Al Khalifa and Richard Bellamy.
According to a statement, the series will track “the notorious murderer and drug trafficker, who was finally caught by the police in Saudi Arabia in the late 1980s … [It] follows the early beginnings of Rashash right through to his capture, with the core focus of the drama centred on a young police officer (Fahd) who makes it his mission to end Rashash’s reign of terror and destruction.”
The “multimillion dollar production” is being touted as the biggest Saudi Arabian production to date, as well as the biggest production from a streaming platform in the region so far.
The series is directed by British filmmaker Collin Teague (‘Torchwood’, ‘Doctor Who’, ‘Being Human’). The Director of Photography is Luke Bryant (‘Chewing Gum’), whose shoot included three full days of capturing helicopter scenes.
Stunt director Kaloyan Vodenicharov (‘World War Z’, ‘Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation’) choreographed 24 stunt sequences for the production.
‘Rashash’ features an all-Saudi lead cast, including Yagoub Al Farhan as Rashash and Nayef Al Dhufairi as Fahd, the police officer on his tail.
The cast underwent weapons training before the shoot, helmed by special armourers flown in from India.
Twofour54 in Abu Dhabi supported the MBC Studios production.
