A scene from Hulu's "Ramy." (Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu)
A former staff writer on the 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 unrelated to gender, and that the show hired four female writers for its second season.
“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 after its first season.
Seven people received writing credits on Season 1 episodes of “Ramy.” The three men who received writing credits were the show’s co-creators. Of the four women who received writing credits, one was the showrunner.
The person with knowledge of the writer’s room told TheWrap that seven new staff writers were hired for Season 2 — four women and three men.
The “male EP” with “no previous writing experience” to whom Baig refers in her tweet is one of the show’s co-creators.
Reps for “Ramy” star and co-creator Ramy Youssef, Hulu, and A24 declined to comment.
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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 recent 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
