Riz Ahmed to write and star in offbeat comedy series
Oscar and Emmy winner Riz Ahmed is working on a new streaming series which he will star in and write.
The still-untitled project is a half-hour comedy and will centre on a character called Shah Latif, an actor struggling to make it in the industry. Just when he’s about to get his big break, he has an existential crisis and stumbles into a conspiracy thriller.
It sounds like there are a few genres at work in this show Ahmed created. Modern Family and The Daily Show writer Ben Karlin has been tapped to be the co-showrunner alongside the British actor.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The series will be available on Amazon Prime, with which Ahmed has a first-look development deal.
He said in a statement, “I’ve wanted to tell this story for a long time. It’s personal, bold, and a lot of fun. It feels so good to be writing and creating it now with this incredible team.”
The series’ writers room includes scribes who have worked on The Bear, Atlanta, Industry, Ramy, Black Monday and The Marvelous Mrs Maisel.
Ahmed is best known for his lead role in HBO miniseries The Night Of, in which he played a young Muslim man accused of killing a white rich girl from New York’s Upper East Side. The performance won him an Emmy award for Best Actor in a Limited Series.
He was Oscar-nominated for his performance in Sound of Metal, playing a musician who is progressively going deaf and has to contend with his new circumstances.
Ahmed was also in Star Wars movie Rogue One, Nightcrawler, Jason Bourne, Fingernails, and was the villain in superhero flick Venom.
He’s previously co-written the feature Mogul Mowgli and the short film The Long Goodbye.
For The Long Goodbye, he won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short. The film tells the story of an immigrant family whose wedding preparations are interrupted by a right-wing march.
On accepting the Oscar, Ahmed said on stage, “In such divided times, we believe the role of story is to remind us there’s no us and them, it’s just us.
“And this is for everyone who feels they don’t belong, anyone who feels like they’re stuck in no man’s land, you’re not alone, we’ll meet you there, that’s where the future is. Peace.”
