Former ‘Ramy’ Staff Writer Says No Women Writers Were Asked Back for Season 2
A former staff writer on the first season of Hulu series “Ramy” said that she was “not asked to return” for the second season of the comedy-drama, and that “none of the other women on staff were asked back either.” But a person with knowledge of the production said the decision was part of a restructuring of the writers’ room in which none of the first season’s staff writers were asked back, regardless of gender.
“I was not asked to return for the 2nd season on a show that had a critically acclaimed first season. And none of the other women on staff were asked back either. Who did get asked back? The male office PA and a male EP w/no previous writing experience,” former staff writer Minhal Baig said in a Twitter thread Wednesday.
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It is not uncommon for writers’ rooms on television series to undergo a complete restructuring prior to the second season. A person with knowledge of the writer’s room told TheWrap exclusively that seven new staff writers were hired for Season 2 — four women and three men. They also made it clear that the restructuring in question only took place in the writer’s room, and that the majority of women on the production staff will return for Season 2.
The person also noted that the “male EP” with “no previous writing experience” to whom Baig refers in her tweet is one of the show’s co-creators, and the only executive producer who is part of the writers’ room. The “office PA” to which Baig refers, the person added, was a former production and writers’ room assistant who was promoted to staff writer for Season 2.
Reps for “Ramy” star and co-creator Ramy Youssef, Hulu, and A24 declined to comment Wednesday.
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“Ramy” is a comedy-drama series that follows fictional character Ramy Hassan, a first-generation Egyptian-American who is on a spiritual journey in his politically divided New Jersey neighborhood, caught between a Muslim community that thinks life is a moral test and a millennial generation that believes life has no consequences. The series is based on Youssef’s real-life experiences.
Though Baig did not call out Youssef by name in her tweets, “Ramy” was the only series on which Baig served as a staff writer in its first season. “Ramy” was renewed for a second season in May.
Baig is a screenwriter and director whose first feature film “Hala” debuted in 2019. In the past, she’s served as a story editor on Netflix’s “Bojack Horseman,” and is currently serving as an executive story editor on the upcoming WarnerMedia series “Dune: The Sisterhood.”
Baig said that the experience of not being asked back to write for “Ramy” was “the most hurtful thing I’ve experienced professionally,” but added that she “wished the best of luck to the creator… I love the show and the work that we did.”
I was not asked to return for the 2nd season on a show that had a critically acclaimed first season. And none of the other women on staff were asked back either. Who did get asked back? The male office PA and a male EP w/no previous writing experience. #NotWorthLess
— Minhal Baig (@minhalbaig) September 18, 2019
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