Masameer (ar|مسامير) is a Saudi Arabian animated web series developed by the studio Myrkott, a studio co-established in 2014 by Faisal Alamer, Abdulaziz Al-Muzaini, and Malik Nejer,[1] with its head office in Riyadh. In 2020 the studio signed, with Netflix, a deal for exclusive distribution for a five year period.[2]
It includes parody of Saudi societal issues. In 2017, Zahraa Alkhaisi of CNN wrote that the series was "satirical" and that the topics "would have been taboo until very recently."[1]
The namesake is the area Masameer.[1]
was released for Netflix[3] and earned about 7.5 million riyal. The second season of Masameer County premiered on March 2, 2023.[4]
In 2021, the 'Masameer Experience' a Simworx dynamic media attraction based on the series, was opened at the BLVD Ruh City development in Saudi Arabia.[5]
On June 26, 2024, Masameer creator Abdulaziz al-Muzaini announced that a Saudi court was prosecuting him with charges that he and his company had "sponsored and supported terrorism and homosexuality" in Masameer. The case had been set in motion in 2021, coinciding with the series' release on Netflix. Muzaini was sentenced to 13 years in prison and a 13 year travel ban, increased to a 30 year travel ban following Muzaini's attempt to appeal the verdict. The case is pending an appeal to the Saudi Arabia Supreme Court.[6]