Samir Abady

There aren’t many shows that are willing to drag their title character through the mud of a moral obstacle course the way that Ramy has. Ramy Hassan (the fictional alter ego of creator Ramy Youssef) is hot off season one, where he was a selfish, misled twenty-something eager to get the most out of his life and live it in a way that is in line with his faith. That’s not a bad thing.

I started photographing Michael Seidenberg and Brazenhead Books on January 8, 2015. Within minutes, it felt like we knew everything we needed to know about each other. We’re both New Yorkers with roots in Queens, we graduated from the same high school, we loved to read—loved to consume media of all kinds, really—and we loved to ramble on about anything that came to mind. Conversations started, hours passed, nothing ended, people faded in and out, and laughter came from the gut.

It comes as no surprise that Aladdin is among the string of live-action updates that Disney is making to its animated films. The original 1992 movie grossed $500 million around the world and was a key part of the Disney renaissance of the 1990s, released between Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. Despite its colossal success, the film did come under fire for its negative stereotypes of the Arab world and its choice to cast not a single actor of Middle Eastern descent for the lead voice roles.