Yahoo News ‘Top Chef Middle East’ Moves to Saudi Arabia’s Neom Hub for New Season
“Top Chef Middle East,” the hit Arabic-language adaptation of Bravo’s TV series, is moving to Saudi Arabia’s innovative Neom production hub.
Leading Middle East broadcaster MBC – which is Saudi-owned – is teaming up with Neom Media Industries to launch production of the eighth season of the reality culinary contest near the planned futuristic city known as “the Line.”
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The partnership “promises a fusion of competitive culinary arts with ultra-modern urban development,” MBC said in a statement.
The full-service Neom Media Village, which is becoming a major driver of the kingdom’s effort to build a film and TV industry almost from scratch, will be the new production hub for “Top Chef Middle East” that is currently among the most successful of the 29 “Top Chef” versions around the world.
Season 5 of “Top Chef Middle East” scooped an International Emmy nomination, a rare accomplishment for the Arabic TV industry. MBC previously filmed “Top Chef” in locations across the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, and in other parts of Saudi.
Neom, which is in the Tabuk province of Saudi which boasts breathtaking landscapes of canyons, desert and a long stretch of unspoiled Red Sea coastline, is the site of the $500 billion futuristic city that is being built though the government recently reportedly scaled back the first phase of construction.
Meanwhile, efforts to launch Neom as a building block of Saudi’s media industry ambitions seem to be forging ahead, at least when it comes to local productions, amid a possible slowdown regarding “the Line.”
“Bringing the show to Neom is not merely a change of location; it is a significant step in redefining the future of filming in the Kingdom,” said Samar Akrouk, MBC Group’s director of production and general manager of MBC Studios, in the statement. “This eighth season will merge the high-energy competition that viewers expect with a strong emphasis on ecological awareness and sustainable living, reflecting the core values of Neom as a city of the future,” she added.
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