Department of Broadcast Grants: Fostering Creative and Sustainable TV Series for pan Arab Satellite Channels

Example 1: Reality series, twelve half to-one-hour episodes, about America seen through the eyes of young Arabs, designed to reach the 25 and under school-age audience, comprising 60% of the regional population.
o The aim of the series would be to show the interest of each member of the cast leading to specific interfaces and encounters in America with counterparts of similar interests.
o The goal of the series will be to present a new vision of the United States — its vibrancy and diversity, as well as its values to the people of the Arab world.

Example 2: Foster Socially Responsible serial television dramas on the major pan Arab free-to-air satellite channels for Saudi Arabia and the 23 Arabic speaking countries and territories of the MENA region.
o In consultation with the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, seek out indigenous producers, writers and directors of current serial dramas with a proven track record and top audience ratings on pan Arab free-to-air satellite channels, who would like to focus part of the drama story on America and Americans’ personal relationships with Saudis in the United States.

Example 3: Develop an original serial television drama in partnership with a major pan Arab free-to-air satellite channel for Saudi Arabia and the 23 Arabic speaking countries and territories of the MENA region. Produce a serial drama that attracts audiences for the network and enhances the possibility of a better life for all who find its entertainment irresistible.
o Create a serial drama that will imbed the values necessary for a more open society, one that respects, for instance, pluralism, equal opportunity and the role and status of women. The drama must have a positive goal; a world in which the use of violence to achieve political, religious, or social objectives is no longer acceptable. It must support constructive alternatives to violent extremism. The series must be constructed in a way that adapts the popular genre of that part of the world into a compelling, must-watch experience.