Netflix’s new series Mo begins almost like The Sopranos. We see a heavyset figure (the comedian Mo Amer) drive to work. The shots alternate between Mo, smoking a cigarette and bopping to the sounds of “Sittin’ Sidewayz” by Paul Wall and Big Pokey, and half-glimpsed shots of the world he passes – not New Jersey but Houston, Texas. He arrives at work (a tech repair shop) and is abruptly sacked, amid fears that the business will be targeted in an immigration crackdown (Mo is a Palestinian refugee). Later in the episode, he is caught up in a random shooting at a supermarket; he gets a bullet in the arm but, uninsured, he refuses to go to hospital. Does this sound much like comedy to you?
Obviously not, you might think. But Mo is not your traditional sitcom. Created by Amer and comedian Ramy Youssef, the eight-episode series, which draws from aspects of Amer’s own life, is part of the school of bittersweet, artsy modern sitcoms that also includes the likes of Atlanta, Ramy and Master of None. The comparisons to Ramy in particular are inevitable, thanks to the shared presences of Youssef (who also created and stars in Ramy) and Amer (who plays Ramy’s cousin Mo in the award-winning Hulu series). But from the very start of Mo, it’s clear that this is its own thing: a little less deep, perhaps, but quicker to a joke – and with its own unique point of view.
