From the landmarks, music and people—among them, one is trill-ing, one is monuMINTal and one is sittin’ sidewayz—Houston-based comic Mohammed Amer’s latest endeavor really should have come with a disclaimer. “Hoard up on Bengay, Houstonians, since you will be pointing out all the references you know until your finger goes numb,” or something like that.
This Texas-based comic with Palestinian roots seems to be on a mission to put the Bayou City, Drake’s second home (or thee hot girl summer’s epicenter, you choose) on the cultural map with Mo, set to begin streaming on Netflix August 24. That said, his goal isn’t to create a celebrity city tour. Amer (together with Ramy Youssef of Hulu’s Ramy fame) have rendered all eight episodes of Mo a space where viewers can discover the real and the scripted, the momentary jolly and the lasting history.
After all, this show is a sorta-autobiographical riff on Amer’s American life. The Mo in Mo is Mo Najjar (Amer), a trilingual asylee who’s been calling the Houston suburb of Alief home after escaping the first Gulf War.
