Despite the significant momentum that began last Ramadan's dramatic season, both in terms of the number of competing works and the stars participating, some of these shows fell short of expectations and became targets for criticism. The main criticisms focused on the weak 'scripts' of the series, as well as the performances of the leads, describing them as exaggerated and illogical in some cases, and weak in others.
Comedy were the biggest losers in the 2026 Ramadan season. In addition to a decline in the number of comedy series participating, many of the shows faced criticism for their weak technical quality and lack of spontaneous laughter, relying on situational comedy and a strong, cohesive script, with a focus on comments or 'punchlines'.
Among the works that disappointed the audience was 'Fakhir Al-Delta,' which represents content creator Ahmed Ramzy's first acting experience after he became famous on social media. The criticism was directed at the weak acting, weak script, and lack of comedy and lightness. Content creators who tried acting for the first time also faced difficulties in their performance and did not leave a positive impression on viewers.
Similarly, the series 'Bibo' did not live up to the expectations placed on it, especially since it was written by Tamer Mohsen, who has presented distinguished works such as 'This Evening,' 'Newton's Game,' and 'Under Control.' Additionally, the work marked the first lead role for actor Ahmed Baher (Kzbara), but it failed to make a positive impact on viewers, whether due to the weak acting of the actors or the weak comedy it presented, in addition to presenting a picture of Upper Egypt that does not match reality.
The criticism also extended to the series 'Baba and Mama Jiran,' which could have been more distinguished by fully utilizing the idea of family bickering between a couple living in separate apartments after their divorce. However, the series did not exploit this matter sufficiently.
The criticisms and failures were not limited to comedies; they also affected other works, such as the series 'We Forget What Was' for actress Yasmine Abdel Aziz. The criticism was directed at the lead actress's exaggerated performance. To this, critic Tarek El-Shanawi responded, saying: 'The series plays on the idea of acting within acting. Here, the bet is on the director's eye, which guides the performance of actress Yasmine Abdel Aziz, and he is the leader who evaluates the performance of each scene, and knows when the dose is excessive, because he is not concerned with direct acting from the actor, but in the series, an actress is playing the life of an actress. Therefore, the reactions of star Yasmine Abdel Aziz needed a vigilant eye from the director, which we lacked, and we saw some scenes transcending the dramatic logic.'
Artists repeating themselves
Despite the public interest in actor Mostafa Shaaban's series 'Darsh,' it faced criticism for exaggerating in playing multiple characters that exceeded logic. How can one person live more than eight characters? Furthermore, the actions of 'Darsh' and his control over the market and his ability to overcome his enemies despite being memoryless are illogical.
Others criticized Mostafa Shaaban for repeating himself in presenting popular drama and presenting the characters in the series with the same acting style.
The same applied to actress Rogina's series 'Maximum,' which caught the public's attention with its idea, which is suitable for presenting a work with rich dramatic threads. However, it was weakened by the exaggeration of events and the illogical transformation of the lead character, who changed from a simple lady working in real estate and being deceived by her husband, to a character capable of confronting a dangerous international gang and setting conditions for its leader, which completely contradicts logic.
Among the works that divided opinions was the series 'A Father But...' starring actors Mohamed Farraj and Hager Ahmed. While a segment of the audience praised the series for presenting the issue of child custody from the perspective of a father who suffers from deprivation of communication with his child, the work faced criticism for its superficial handling of the issue, which Egyptian lawyer Nehad Abu Al-Qamas described as superficial and naive. She said in a post on her Facebook account: 'I expected the series 'A Father But...' to present a serious discussion on family issues, especially with the starring of Mohamed Farraj, but what was presented in the first episodes was superficial and naive, because it did not discuss the crisis, but presented a set of dangerous messages, normalizing violence and exposing children to danger.'
The lead actors of the work were also attacked for exaggerating in their performance. For instance, critic Magda KhairAllah commented, saying: 'The voice is one of the most important tools for an actor in expressing the character, but Hager Ahmed's use of her voice in the series was exaggerated, which made the character look unrealistic to the viewers.' The attack by critic Magda KhairAllah also extended to the work's director, Yasmine Ahmed Kamel, pointing out that the handling of emotional scenes reflects a lack of experience in dealing with human details within drama.
Actress Soula Osman expressed in her statements her regret for participating in the work, attributing it to the fact that its behind-the-scenes was not positive, which reflected in the final form it came out in.
Away from 'trends'
On the other hand, there were series that managed to impose themselves on the scene and achieve real success, away from the disputes of 'trends and most-watched,' such as 'The Enchanted Eye' starring actors Basim Samra and Esam Omar, and 'Last Chance,' which presented a tough acting match between actors Mahmoud Hamida and Tariq Latifi, and 'The Story of Narcissus' for Riham Abdel Ghafour and Hamza El-Ally, and 'It's Chemistry,' which presented light comedy and an outstanding performance from the team, especially actors Mostafa Greb, Diab, Mimi Jamal, and Sayed Rajab.
Also, the series 'Mr. Samir' starring actor Karim Mahmoud Abdel Aziz and Noha Sebai found public reception, along with 'The Art of War' by Youssef El-Sharif, with some criticism for the slow pace of events. Also, actor Ahmed Amin's series 'The Second Script' came weaker than the first part that was shown last Ramadan.
