Brando el Sharq – براندو الشرق – Season One [2023]

Brando el Sharq is one of the decent Lebanese series on MBC’s Shahid. But the dramady falls into familiar tropes that make it difficult to watch.

Georges Khabbaz is a director looking to get funding for his first movie. He sets out on a bittersweet journey to convince actor Khaled Salah, aka Brando Al Sharek, to star in it.

At first, the plot sounds like a new premise for Lebanese shows. However, two episodes in, it’s obvious that the show doesn’t bring anything new to the table besides the set design.

Khabbaz is up to his same tricks. The actors (and cameos) are the same from every other show. In addition, the mix between Lebanese and Arab actors is the same recycled combo. I pretty much preferred him in Perfect Strangers on Netflix.

To be honest, I really wanted this show by Amin Dora to be good. And it has some good bones, but when you’re watching a thirty-five-minute-long episode, and you get 8 minutes of credits, something is off. Some episodes did nothing for the story, other episodes barely moved the needle. It’s a streaming show, and it should be treated like it.

If anything, the ten episodes season could have been better and told the story in a more interesting way in five episodes. No need for all the fluff and sloth speed storytelling.

Should you watch it?

Maybe. If you compare it to other Lebanese shows, it’s better than most. But the second you start comparing to international ones, including pan-arab shows, it’s…. slow.

Where can I watch it?

You can stream Brando el Sharq – براندو الشرق exclusively on Shahid.