Viu, a leading pan-regional OTT video service from PCCW media group, has revealed its latest Arabic original supernatural-thriller series titled Wadi Al-Jinn.

Already in production and set to premiere on Viu in a few months, the fictional series follows the story of four college students who explore the mysterious Wadi Al-Jinn caves and find themselves in a hidden underworld dominated by evil forces.

An original concept by the Viu production team and produced by iProductions, the series boasts huge leading and upcoming Arab talent from Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Syria. There are starring roles for emerging superpowers Youssef Othman and Layla Ahmed Zaher. They are backed by the amazing talent of Bushra Rozza, Khaled Kamal, Reham Saeed, Mohsen Mansour, Roa Channouha, Hana Daoud, Hasan Malik, Cynthia Khalifeh, Abdelrahman Al Yamani, and Firas Sa’id, who complete the bill.

Behind the lens, Egyptian Hossam El Gohary will direct the series, bringing his artistic and dramatic adaptation to Viu-ers’ screens, alongside Producer Ramez Atef, Art Director Hind Haidar and Costume Designer Enas Abdullah. Director of Photography Ashraf Gaber is tasked with bringing the mystery of Wadi Al-Jinn to life through dazzling visuals with the support of one of Egypt’s top visual effects studios, TREND VFX.

The lineup reaffirms Viu’s commitment to fostering and growing local Arab talent through compelling original content that is built for modern, local audiences.

Director Hossam El Gohary said, “This is another special script from the Viu Original team, with another special cast to bring it to life. My team and I have amazing talent at our disposal and are thrilled to be on location in such a beautiful and historic part of the eastern Egyptian desert. This is an incredibly interesting topic and concept, and we look forward to cinematically mystifying the story for the screen.”

The cast is joined by more notable names from the industry, namely writers Menna Ikram, Omar Khaled, and Mohammad Hisham Obya — who also wrote Viu’s original production ZODIAC (2019) — as well as actors Saleh Abdel Nabi, Karim El Dessouky, Ahmed Abdel Hay, Injy Abaza, Shammam el Hassan, Hamza Al Eily, Heba Abdel Ghani, Asma Suleiman, Hind Reda, Safaa Jalal and Ola Rami. Celebrated Egyptian actress Bushra also makes a special guest appearance.

Mr Wessam Kattan, Vice President of Content of Viu Middle East, said, “This series underlines our passion for investing in upcoming Arab talent, and creating must-see, absorbing content for our audiences, across diverse genres and offered in myriad languages. Our Viu Original team has brilliantly crafted a unique and imaginative modern plot, informed by audience data insights and based on Arabic mythical stories. We look forward to seeing Wadi Al-Jinn air exclusively to Viu-ers early next year, as we continue delivering on our promise of bringing the very best original Arabic entertainment to the market.”

Viu-ers will be able to binge Wadi Al-Jinn on Viu Premium in the Q1 of 2021.

About Viu

Viu is a leading pan-regional over-the-top (OTT) video streaming service operated by PCCW media group. It is available in 16 markets including Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the Middle East; as well as South Africa; Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Myanmar in Asia.

Operating with both an ad-supported tier and a premium subscription tier, Viu delivers premium content in different genres from top content providers with local languages and subtitles, as well as original production series under the “Viu Original” initiative.

Viu offers users popular and current content with streaming and download features and localized user interfaces. With the patented Dynamic Adaptive Transcoding technology, Viu can provide the best viewing experience regardless of device or network conditions.

The service can be accessed via Viu app (available for free on App Store and Google Play) on connected devices, e.g. smartphones and tablets, selected smart TVs, as well as on web by logging into www.viu.com.

About iProductions

iProductions is a fully-fledged production company that was established in 2013 in Egypt as a content production arm of O-Media Holding media investments and its subsidiary PromOmedia. Before the establishment of iProductions, PromOmedia invested in developing media content with a library of 35 productions.

Run by Ahmed Fahmy as Managing Director, iProductions aims to be a truly integrated content company that develops, produces and distributes high-quality content, catering to the Egyptian and the Pan-Arab market. The company also strives to produce entertainment TV shows and all sorts of content.

About PCCW Media

PCCW media group is a leading, fully integrated multimedia and entertainment group in Hong Kong.

PCCW media group operates the leading pay-TV service in Hong Kong under the Now TV brand offering more than 160 linear channels and an extensive on-demand library of local, Asian and international programming. Subscribers can also access premium content via the Now Player companion app. It is also a leading producer of Chinese language news, financial news and sports programming, in addition to Asian infotainment content which complements its wide portfolio of licensed movie and international television content. Now TV also offers its content via Now E, a subscription OTT (over-the-top) service with international and Asian dramas, movies and world-class sports events, which is designed to meet the needs of millennial viewers. Besides, PCCW media group operates popular digital music streaming service MOOV in Hong Kong.

PCCW media group also provides a leading pan-regional OTT video service under the Viu brand with over 35 million users in 16 markets including countries in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, as well as South Africa. The Viu service is available to consumers through a dual model with an ad-supported free tier and a premium subscription tier. Viu offers fresh premium TV series, movies and lifestyle programming in local and regional languages and subtitles in different genres from top content providers, as well as premium original productions under the brand “Viu Original”. The service can be accessed via the app, selected smart TVs and online.

About PCCW Limited

PCCW Limited (SEHK: 0008) is a global company headquartered in Hong Kong which holds interests in telecommunications, media, IT solutions, property development and investment, and other businesses.

The Company holds a majority interest in the HKT Trust and HKT Limited, Hong Kong’s premier telecommunications service provider and leading operator in fixed-line, broadband and mobile communication services. HKT meets the needs of the Hong Kong public and local and international businesses with a wide range of services including local telephony, local data and broadband, international telecommunications, mobile, and other telecommunications businesses such as customer premises equipment sale, outsourcing, consulting, and contact centres.

PCCW also owns a fully integrated multimedia and entertainment group in Hong Kong. It operates the largest local pay-TV operation, Now TV, and is engaged in the provision of over-the-top (OTT) video service under the Viu brand in Hong Kong and other places in the region.

Through HK Television Entertainment Company Limited, PCCW also operates a domestic free television service in Hong Kong.

Also, wholly-owned by the Group, PCCW Solutions is a leading information technology outsourcing and business process outsourcing provider in Hong Kong and mainland China.

Also, PCCW holds a majority interest in Pacific Century Premium Developments Limited, and other overseas investments. To learn more about PCCW, please visit www.pccw.com.