Summary
This is fun puppetry comedy, and it stays at that level throughout the series.
This review of Netflix’s Abla Fahita: Drama Queen season 1 contains no spoilers — the comedy series was released on the streaming service on March 15, 2021.
I’m not exactly a fan of puppetry merged with a real-life cast, but if there’s a legitimate story behind it, then it’s worth reconsideration. Landing on Netflix is Abla Fahita: Drama Queen, Netflix’s second-ever Egyptian original, which reimagines a star in the making who unfortunately finds herself on the run after a fatal accident. The first episode brings a scandal, generated from a slip of the clothes that brings a media frenzy; Abla’s life falls apart from this moment on. The series is bonkers in its own right, bringing a watch-worthy Egyptian comedy.
The Netflix series manages to bring quirky comedy — Abla Fahita: Drama Queen successfully merges puppets and real-life adults, with the cast seemingly enjoying the task to make the settings as cooperative as possible — season 1 is only 6 chapters long, but in that time, it brings an adventure of a crestfallen star attempting a road to redeem herself. It meddles that Abla is the most dramatic of drama queens, that even trying to clear her name is full of theatrics.
Whether or not Abla Fahita: Drama Queen has space for future seasons remains in doubt. Despite the concept, it can be felt that it grows old rather quickly. This isn’t The Muppets, where it can range across many facets and media forms, bringing movies, merchandise, and presenting in charity events. The Netflix series feels like a one-off story, where a continuation would stretch the narrative thin.
But that’s not to say write it off; the story is imaginative after all, and Abla Fahita: Drama Queen has watch value in a Netflix schedule that is rammed with plenty of content; this is fun puppetry comedy, and it stays at that level throughout the series.
