If you haven’t had the time to Netflix and chill recently, we strongly recommend that you do and start with The Cage – it will definitely bring back waves of nostalgia if you grew up in Kuwait! This eight-episode dramedy brings a fresh take on tackling marital challenges in Arab drama, in a light-hearted and relatable way.

In The Cage, produced by Abdullah Boushahri and directed by Jasem Almuhanna, we see Khaled Ameen (Dr. Nasser) take on the role of a social counselor who is working with a married couple, played by Hussain AlMahdi (Zaid) and Rawan Mahdi (Rawan), to address their seemingly irreconcilable differences and better understand each other’s perspective to save their marriage. While the counselor is helping them reconnect, he too is facing struggles in his personal life.

The show is set predominantly in the counselor’s office, with many flashbacks to Kuwait in the 90s era where the married couple relive their courtship, marriage, and the problems they face. The style of the show is uber-engaging and is able to draw you in. Many times, we felt that we were right there sitting on the sofa in the counselor’s room, identifying with one of the characters, and feeling the same frustrations. While the counselling itself was presented in an extremely relatable format, we cannot deny that every flashback took us back to an incredible era in Kuwait. Beepers were a lifeline, billiards were the social thing to do, mix-tapes were edited with such expertise to amplify budding romances, and most importantly, gender roles were extremely different. We loved how AlMahdi and Mahdi channelled the social intricacies of this era with complete accuracy, from sneaking time to get to know one another on the phone (a grave taboo back then), which essentially defined their entire courtship pre-marriage, to how their lives transformed completely when they survived so many hurdles to finally tie the knot. Once they lived together, they were in for a rude awakening when it came to the realities of day-to-day married life. Here at bazaar, we were lucky enough to catch up with the talent and learn a little more about how the show came together.

Every single talent that we spoke to commented on how seamlessly the team came together despite the challenges of filming in the midst of summer, and how beautifully everyone cooperated. Hussain AlMahdi likened it to a meal made with love: “you know when you eat a great meal and you can tell that it was cooked with love? That’s how I feel about The Cage. Everyone worked on this project with such love and devotion, and I think this comes through in the series – you can tell it was made with love.”

The aim of the series is to highlight some of the social issues faced in a marriage, without delving into sensitive topics. Abdullah Boushahri, the Producer, tells us that “with The Cage, we wanted to create a series that explored some of the problems couples face in marriages, but in a relatable and light-hearted way, that the audience could connect to… It’s a positive and uplifting story about facing your differences in relationships and being more mindful of your partners’ point of view.”

With a team of talent that had a really strong vision from the start, it was clear that the mutual respect they had for each other would result in a show that would touch peoples’ hearts. Rawan Mahdi told us just as much: “One of the most exciting things for me was working with such a talented, passionate team. Jasem Almuhanna is a really inspirational, conscious director and I admire the way he works. Jassim had a very clear vision for The Cage and we were all heading towards the same goal, connecting the dots across a story and focusing on every small detail. He pushed us, as artists, to get the most out of our characters and scenes, to take everything to the next level and make the series as good as it could be. I am proud of the work we’ve done together and hope audiences enjoy watching The Cage as much as we enjoyed making it!”

Along with the vision of the director, producer, and actors, another element that stands out is the portrayal of the characters. Following the couple on their ten-year journey really helps the audience connect with them. Additionally, the portrayal of a counselor, not usually seen in Khaleeji dramas, is quite different. Khaled Ameen told us that “my character, the social counselor, is a really interesting character, one that’s quite new to Middle East dramas. Bringing him to life was an exciting opportunity for me, and I enjoyed portraying him as he helped the couple navigate their difficulties, while facing his own personal struggles too.” We personally felt Ameen channel his inner Fraser Crane for this role, but with a Kuwaiti twist.

All of the talent that we spoke to credited the director in bringing together the script and story, and extracting the best of each of the actors, the crew, and all of the support staff. Before each scene, Jasem Almuhanna would conduct one-on-one sessions with Khaled, Rawan and Hussein to dive into what was happening, what they wanted to achieve, what details they wanted to come through. He knew that all the actors were committed to the same vision and were open to feedback on how to make the most of the scene or their character.

To understand a little more about how Jasem Almuhanna found his passion in filmmaking, we asked him in closing what inspired him to enter the world of film, he shared a sweet memory of the past: “when I was 7 years old, my family and I went to see Titanic at the cinema and I was blown away by my first movie experience. I couldn’t stop talking about it! My oldest brother, who is also a filmmaker, broke the news to me that it was fiction, that people were acting and that it wasn’t real. I remember being so surprised, but also really impressed. He sat me down and told me all about James Cameron, and his job as a film director. That was the beginning for me and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.”

If you haven’t watched The Cage on Netflix yet, once you do, you will easily see the harmony created amongst the artists. It is a fantastic production, our only request would have been a few more episodes!

The Cage is the next milestone in Netflix’s journey in the region as it continues to invest in amplifying the voices of more Arab storytellers. The Cage is just the beginning for Netflix series in Kuwait, with another high-profile project in the works that promises to deliver a fresh perspective, exciting twists and turns and some beloved, familiar faces.

You can watch The Cage series on Netflix.com and stay up to date with the latest new productions from Netflix, especially those catered for the Arab world, by following them on Instagram @NetflixMENA.