“Good Girls” is getting an Arabic version, marking the first international adaptation of the Universal Television show about three moms embarking on a life of crime.
Titled “Lunch Box,” the Arabic “Good Girls” redo features Egyptian stars Ghada Adel, Jamila Awad and Fadwa Abed in the main roles as three women — two sisters and their friend — who, faced with sudden economic hardship, decide to pull an unlikely heist. Just like in the U.S. original, starring Christina Hendricks, Mae Whitman and Retta, they presume this will improve their lives, only to find themselves spiraling deeper into the criminal world.
Egyptian actors Ahmed Wafik, Hesham Ismail and rapper-actor Shahin also star.
The 30-episode “Lunch Box” is being produced by NBCUniversal Formats, which is part of Universal International Studios, and Dubai-and Cairo-based production company S Productions. “Lunch Box” marks their second collaboration after previously teaming up on the Arabic adaptation of comedy drama series “Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce,” which was also the first international redo of that show.
“Lunch Box” is directed by Egypt’s Hisham El Rasheedy, who helmed Netflix’s Arabic shark movie “Mako,” and written by Amr Medhat.
“Lunch Box” launches on Monday, the second day of the holy month of Ramadan, which is marathon TV time in the Arab world. The show will air daily on Egyptian Free-to-air channel Al Nahar, streaming platform TOD, Pay TV channel BEIN Drama across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, free-to-air channel SBC in Saudi Arabia and Fujairah TV in the United Arab Emirates.
“Together with our partners at S Productions, who continue to lead the charge for female-led stories across the Middle East, we look forward to local audiences experiencing this brilliantly bold, and very fun, new series during the prestigious Ramadan TV season,” Ana Langenberg, SVP format and production at NBCUniversal Formats, said in a statement.
Added Sally Waly, S Productions’ founder and CEO: “I’m very excited to be working on ‘Lunch Box’ and expect it to resonate with Arab viewers across age and gender and stand out in the notoriously crowded Ramadan content field. The smart, funny storytelling doesn’t only portray good girls committing crimes, but it gives those women a powerful voice and celebrates the strength of female friendship.”
The original U.S version of “Good Girls” was created by Jenna Bans, who also served as an executive producer alongside Mark Wilding, Bill Krebs, Carla Banks-Waddles and Michael Weaver. Bans and Krebs were also co-showrunners.
