Hulu’s ‘Ramy’ Earns Emmy Nomination, First Muslim American Sitcom Ever To Receive Nomination

Ramy, a Muslim American sitcom, was nominated Tuesday morning for an Emmy Award. The show is the first Muslim American sitcom to receive an Emmy Nomination.

The show’s co-creator and star, Ramy Youssef, received two nominations: one for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and another for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series. His co-star, Mahershala Ali was nominated for his supporting role in the show’s second season.

Hulu’s Ramy follows character Ramy Hassan, played by Youssef, a first-generation Egyptian American while struggling to balance his culture, religion and American millennial tendencies.

The streaming platform renewed the show for its third season earlier this month.

Youssef also won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series in January.

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The actor and director’s response to his Tuesday Emmy Award Nomination was, “Alhamdulillah,” an Arabic phrase meaning “praise be to God” or “thank God.” Youssef then told The Hollywood Reporter, “It’s really exciting because we’re so specific. I think that you watch our show, you realize in a good way that we’re not even close to covering the entirety of the Muslim experience. For a show that only portrays a sliver of it to get recognized, I think that that should mean that we’re going to get many more Muslim stories greenlit because the umbrella of the Muslim experience is so vast – it’s so many different groups, so many types of people.”

He continued saying, “There’s so many more stories that could be told so it excites me for the bigger picture, one that doesn’t even include me.”

Although Ramy is referred to as the first Muslim American sitcom, the Television Academy has previously recognized and nominated other Muslims including actors Aziz Ansari for his role in Master of None and Riz Ahmed for his role in The Night Of.

Jimmy Kimmel is set to host the 72 Annual Emmy Awards on Sunday, September 20. The ceremony will premiere on ABC.