A Lebanese Director Turns Her Mother’s Adolescence in South Lebanon Into a Sitcom
What started as an idea on a notebook is now becoming a full-fledged sitcom.
Batoul Mourad is bringing her Lebanese sitcom, Ajnabiyeh, to life. Inspired by her mother’s adolescence in Jnoub, Mourad first jotted the idea in her notebook six years ago. Now, she has moved the coming-of-age series into production and is finally filming the first episode.
Set in 1998 in occupied South Lebanon, Ajnabiyeh follows a group of teenage girls navigating daily life in a setting shaped by political tension and military occupation. But instead of centering war as spectacle, the show zooms into something more familiar and overlooked: teenage girlhood.
Despite shifts in global media representation, the dominant imagination of the region as a uniformly violent or oppressive space persists. In Ajnabiyeh, however, Mourad deliberately flips that framing.
“The scariest thing about the Middle East is their teenage girls”
The series follows a group of teenage girls who feel increasingly alienated from their community, sometimes by choice and sometimes by circumstance, often responding with schemes, defiance, and retaliation against those they believe have wronged them.
At the center is 15-year-old Maryem/Mary Em, whose quiet rebellion even shows in how she writes her own name, and who carries a sharp, often judgmental attitude toward anyone she sees as privileged or out of touch. Her twin sister Layal is just as calculated but far more reserved, using her intelligence and social awareness to navigate situations more discreetly.
Their younger sister, Sumaya/Sue, is still figuring out where she belongs, torn between trying to fit in and resisting. Rounding out the group is Nour, a self-described born-again Muslim who moves to Lebanon hoping for a fresh start after a troubled past. However, she often finds herself pulled into the sisters’ chaotic world, becoming both participant and reluctant accomplice in their plans.
The pilot
In the pilot episode, Mary Em’s dad finds himself locked out of the village by the IDF, leaving the girls unexpectedly unsupervised. Sensing an opening, they set their sights on Youssef Jabar’s mum’s divorce party, a night that promises freedom they rarely get.
But as their plans unfold, the situation spirals, and they begin taking extreme measures to keep Mary Em’s dad out of the picture just long enough to enjoy themselves.
There is something intentionally small about the world Ajnabiyeh builds. Even when the backdrop is heavy, the plot grapples friendships and identity. The sitcom reminds us that coming-of-age stories don’t pause for context, and that life in the Middle East is not solely defined by war.
While the sitcom is currently in development, you can actually request the full script for the Ajnabiyeh pilot episode here. If you want to stay posted, make sure to follow their behind-the-scenes on Instagram and TikTok.
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