The second season of “Mo,” created by Mohammed Amer and Ramy Youssef, premiered on Jan. 30 on Netflix. The first season introduced audiences to a hard-working, complex character, Mo Najjar (Mohammed Amer), balancing his dual cultural, trilingual identity navigating family and personal life in Houston. He’s working toward getting his asylum granted to finally hold a U.S. passport. But as his character coins himself, “I’m like a refugee-free agent.”
Audiences catch up with Mo in Mexico where he’s been waiting for an opportunity to get back into the United States. In the meantime, he makes his living selling falafel tacos out of his food cart where he meets a diplomat’s wife. She eventually, though with strings attached, leads him to an immigration detention center. With his grit and humor, Mo navigates through the horrors of the system.
While waiting at a detention center, Mo learns that his journey, although tough, is privileged compared to others waiting with him. Speaking perfect English and practically raised in the United States, Mo has a lawyer back in Houston who works on his case day in and day out, a luxury that most in the detention center don’t have access to. At a time when immigration policies are the center of American politics, we get a dose of humanity through it all.
He eventually makes his way back to Texas when he learns that his girlfriend, Maria (Teresa Ruiz), has moved on and is dating Guy (Simon Rex), an Israeli-Zionist chef who owns a high-end Mediterranean restaurant. Already frustrated with his basic name, Mo catches on to the all too familiar generically labeled “Mediterranean” recipes. Watching his frustration showcases the importance of preserving generational recipes as a means of cultural resistance.
Mo was also insulted by Maria’s choice, he called her an “emotional terrorist” for disregarding his stories on how the Zionist occupation impacted his family. Mo’s realization of who his ex-girlfriend’s new partner is represents the broader notion of Israeli expansion into his territory — whether that has always been his land or his personal life. Mo isn’t afraid to display his emotions, and he’s unapologetic when he does too.
In an interview with Jon Stewart, Amer said, “For me, some of the things that we were doing in the show, was recreating actual memories. It’s a very painful thing to go through but I also knew it was the realest way to tell the story.”
It’s a gift that Amer decided to go through the pain. The show truly succeeded because it was real, and Arabs in the Western diaspora understood his experiences and frustration, but no one explained it as well as he did.
The humor of the show cannot be escaped, but throughout the season, it’s made clear just how sincere the story is. “Mo” found a way for viewers to experience a range of very serious topics through laughter. It was a package opened too quickly, and with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it leaves viewers begging for more.
The best aspect of “Mo” is that, for once, it’s Arabs telling the Palestinian story in American media. In a rare experience, American viewers can listen to what it means to be a Palestinian, Arab and Muslim uninterrupted.
It is not yet clear whether a third season will premiere. Season two is currently streaming on Netflix.
