Just yesterday, Amazon Prime Video released its very first original Arab television show. ‘Final Round’ starring the Egyptian star, Ahmed El Sakka and a slew of actors such as Asmaa Abulyazeid, Ashraf Abdel Baky, Hanan Motawie, Rushdy El Shamy, and Ali Sobhy.
With only three episodes out of the nine, it wouldn’t be judging too early to say that this is a show that will start conversations, to say the least. Directed by Persian filmmaker, Miryam Ahmadi who is known to create works that will have you feeling anxious and on the edge of your seat, this one is no exception.
‘Final Round’ follows the story of Dr. Yehia (Ahmed El Sakka) who after years away from the boxing ring tries to hop in one last time for a final round. With any project related to a sport, it takes much prep and we had to find out the process behind preparing for such a role from El Sakka himself. “I started by preparing and training for five months for MMA then shot the first part of the show so that I can be fit and then we shot the second part.”
Of course, with such a fast-paced, layered story, we also had to ask the star, what his favorite scene was so far from the aired three episodes. “They’re all important to me. The scene with Hanan Motawei, of course. The father scene in the third episode and my scenes with Asmaa Abulyazeid; to be honest, I am happy with the show and am grateful that God has made our patience worth it.”
Though the show focuses on MMA, it’s important to note that this isn’t just any sport-related show where we just follow the character as he achieves his dream, as here we also see another side to Yehia that’s very much multi-dimensional where he suffers from early-onset Alzheimer’s. Though we are starting to see a lot of projects from around the Middle East produced to spread awareness of certain illnesses, this may be the first that we see Alzheimer’s represented in this light; where it’s a middle-aged man and he’s chasing after his dreams, even if he will forget them.
Besides this fresh story and of course, the exceptional performance by El Sakka, other elements we are loving thus far: everything from the opening song by Hany El Dakkak who never misses to the on-point acting by the rest of the cast.
While only three episodes out, ‘Final Round’ will have you hooked, waiting for the rest of the story to unfold every Thursday.
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