Transnational audiovisual remakes: Suits in Arabic as a case study

5.1 Setting

Unlike subtitled and dubbed versions, the setting of an adapted series is often changed to fit the new locale (Sayaheen and Darwish 2023, Abu Ain and Darwish 2023). In Suits 2011, the events take place in New York (although most of the shooting took place in Toronto). In Suits in Arabic 2022, by contrast, both the shooting and events take place in Cairo because TVision, the adapting company, is an Egyptian producing company located in Cairo. Moreover, since the 1950s, Egypt has been the centre of audiovisual content in the Arab Middle East. Furthermore, until the last two decades, the majority of Arab movies and series were Egyptian, which led to the Egyptian dialect being the lingua franca of the Arab media. Thus, adapting Suits into Egyptian Arabic and selecting Cairo as the new setting of the series is not surprising because Egyptian Arabic is comprehended in all Arab countries.

One of the distinguishing features of Suits is how the actors and actresses dress in formal suits and how they work within top law firms that own luxurious high-rising buildings with both exquisite exterior and interior decorations. This is preserved in the adapted version although law firms differ in Egypt from those in the United States or Canada. Pearson Hardman is run by a woman, and ElMessiri Zidan is also run by a woman. This is not as common as in the West. Incidentally, according to Layalina magazine (2022), the producing company is rumoured to have not paid for the suits of the cast worth 2.7 million Egyptian pounds tailored by Orangesquare fashion company.

5.2 Title

Pun-based titles or titles with multiple meanings are very hard to render from one language into another as they are often inherently language and culture specific. The title of Suits has multiple meanings. The first meaning is related to the fact that the majority of the cast wear suits in the series. There is no doubt that actors and actresses in Suits look attractive in expensive formal attire. In fact, right from the pilot episode and upon the first meeting between Harvey (the main character and a successful high-profile lawyer) and Mike (Harvey’s assistant who does not have a law degree), Harvey emphasizes the importance of wearing formal suits in their profession, not any suits but the elegant and expensive ones. The second meaning is related to lawsuits, the focal issue in this legal drama series. In slang, lawyers, businessmen, or those who have desk jobs in the city and wear formal suits are called ‘suit’ (Urban Dictionary Online). When the original version of the series was first available on Netflix, its title was not translated into Arabic within Netflix’s Arabic interface. Up to the present time, Netflix’s Arabic interface shows the original title in Latin characters (English) but the summary of the plot in Arabic. Within the subtitles, however, the title is translated into da’awa ‘lawsuits’ only referring to one meaning of the pun-based title.

As pun-based titles are sometimes untranslatable into other languages without the loss of one or more dimensions of the multiple meanings, the title of the Arabic version is a combination of preservation, Arabicization, and explanation, i.e. Suits: Suuts bil arabi ‘Suits: Suits in Arabic’. The adapted title understandably does not fully provide the multiple meanings of the word ‘suits’ but, at least, it is trying (Darwish and Sayaheen 2019). Arab fans of the series use alternative unofficial titles to refer to both versions of Suits, such as qadhaaya ‘lawsuits’, musalsal qadhaaya ‘lawsuits series’, elmesiri zidaan ‘ElMessiri Zidan series’, musalsal badlaat bilarabi ‘outfits series in Arabic’. Those fan-based unofficial titles used by fans on the internet to refer to the series may signpost dissatisfaction with the official title. However, this needs to be supported by qualitative evidence taken from the Arab fans themselves, but this is beyond the scope of this study and highly recommended in future related studies.

5.3 Cast

Gabriel Macht plays the role of the charismatic Harvey Specter, while Asser Yassin plays the role of the charismatic Zain Thabet in the Arabic version. Both actors look and act smart, and they share the same age cohort. Moreover, both actors are handsome, charming, and attractive in their respective cultures. Patrick J. Adams plays the role of Mike Ross. The actor is 30 years old, a young man who seems to be at the age of a fresh graduate in his mid-twenties at the time of filming the series. It is appropriate for his age and appearance to attend exams instead of other students. In the Arabic version, Ahmed Dawood plays the role of Adam Marwan. The actor is 39 years old, a mature young man who looks to be in his mid-thirties. The choice of this actor is disputed as it is inappropriate for his age and appearance to behave immaturely and attend exams instead of other students. Gina Torres plays the role of Jessica Pearson, a black woman who co-owns and runs the law firm. The presence of her power in every scene is unblemished. The well-known Jordanian actress, Saba Mubarak, plays the role of Farida ElMessiri who does not show her personal and legal power as Jessica does. Because Arab women are not as powerful in the workplace as their Western counterparts, it is possible that the focus is shifted to Farida’s beauty as the source of her power in the Arabic version of the series. Rick Hoffman plays the role of Louis Litt, a narcissistic character who uses dirty tactics just to win any situation. Mohammad Shahin plays the role of Qadri Al-Zayyat. He replicates Louis’s character, especially while enjoying his position as the trainees’ supervisor.

Proper names are modified in the Arabic version to blend in with the local target Arab locale. The chosen names are familiar to the Arabic ear but not of high frequency. This choice succeeded in presenting the characters as high-class, rich, and charismatic. Rich people in Egypt and most of the Arab countries choose low-frequency names for their sons and daughters in order to stand out (Suleiman 2003). Overall, the choice of the actors and the actresses proved to be of great importance in the adaptation process. The choices in Suits in Arabic 2022 are successful, except in one case where the age of the actor is not appropriate for the role played in the series.

5.4 Opening and credits

In the original version of Suits, each episode starts with what is known as a ‘cold open’ or ‘teaser’, which is basically an introduction to the episode. It gives the audience introducing scenes and clues without specifically mentioning the storyline of the episode to make the audience immersed into the series. Then, it is followed by an opening credit that shows the members of the series including the cast, producers, production company, music, editor, and so on. After that, the episode starts. In contrast, in the adapted Arabic version, the episodes start directly with the opening credits but without ‘cold opens’ or ‘teasers’. It is apparent that this is related to the production norms of Arab Television.

5.5 Daily habits

In the first episode of the original version of Suits, Harvey plays Poker while drinking alcohol, but in the adapted version, Zain plays chess and refuses to drink alcohol. Playing Poker in the American version is replaced with playing Chess, which is a socially and religiously accepted game in Egyptian and Arab culture. In the third episode of the original version, Ross and his grandmother play Checkers, which is replaced by playing cards in the Arabic version. This change does not reflect social and religious adaptation as board games, like Checkers, are accepted in Arab culture. However, Checkers itself is not widely known in the Middle East. People in the Middle East often play Backgammon with friends and family at home and in coffee shops. Perhaps, changing the not-known Checkers with a well-known board game, such as Backgammon, would have been more fitting.

In the original version, Harvey Specter receives an SMS message from Jessica that reads: “I need you.” In the Arabic version, Zain receives a WhatsApp message from Qadri Al-Zayyat stating: “Ashraf Tawlan is here, and Farida wants you. It seems that you made a big mistake.” The differences between these two messages are in terms of length and the sender. In the original version, the message is short, brief, and assertive; it is sent directly from Jessica. In the adapted Arab version, Zain receives a message from Qadri, a co-worker, not from Farida, the manager, and the message is full of details to inform Zain that it is a serious situation. Apparently, this change in the length of the message has to do with how people in Eastern cultures communicate messages in more detail than those in Western cultures who prefer brevity and directness. Moreover, communication across genders in the Arab Muslim world is not always direct even at the workplace.

In the Arab version, Adam eats chips while sitting with his friend Marwan who is smoking; it is not clear if Marwan is smoking a cigarette or a marijuana joint. However, towards the end of the scene, some marijuana joints and loose marijuana appear on a plate. In the original version, Mike gets high smoking a bong while sitting with his drunk friend. Although, in theory, smoking weed is neither socially nor religiously accepted in Egypt, it is not surprising to see Egyptians smoking Hashish on the Egyptian screen.

In the second episode, Mike comes to the office while being high after smoking a bong, but in the Egyptian version, this scene is deleted. Moreover, in the third episode of the original version, Louis says to Mike that he has ordered some expensive wines, whereas in the Egyptian version, Qadri tells Adam that he has ordered a lot of food and many extras. Altering scenes with alcohol in the original version to alcohol-free scenes in the Egyptian Arabic version seems exaggerated as alcoholic drinks appear in almost all Egyptian movies. Indeed, the process of localizing and adapting a foreign TV series into Arabic can have immense influence on the re-writers, directors, and producers to the extent that they might exaggerate the taboos in the local culture.

In another scene, there are five whisky cups in front of Harvey, while in the Egyptian version, Zain is asked to drink and replies, “I don’t drink.” This reply reflects the Egyptian Arab Muslim culture where not all people drink. When Harvey is promoted, he celebrates with Jessica by drinking liquor. In the adapted version, efforts are made to hide the fact that alcohol is involved in the scene. For example, Rachel drinks alcohol, while her Egyptian counterpart, Shereen, eats pizza. A scene that shows the financial company client pouring an alcoholic drink into a glass is deleted in the adapted version. Furthermore, in the fifth episode, Mike and Trevor meet at a bar, while in the Egyptian version, Adam and Marwan meet at a restaurant. Nevertheless, in a scene in the sixth episode, the adapters do not try to hide the appearance of alcohol in a bar, unlike in previous scenes. In other words, alcohol is inconsistently avoided in the adapted Arabic version.

5.6 Morality and social customs

In the original version, Mike visits his grandmother, who has recently moved to live in a nursing home. In the adapted version, Adam gets back from work and is greeted by his grandmother whom he shares the house with. These two different scenes illustrate the differences between the Western and Eastern cultures and pay respect to the Arab Muslim audience who do not accept the idea of placing parents and grandparents in nursing homes. Moreover, in the original version, Harvey goes up to the witness’s apartment in order to talk with her, whereas in the adapted version, Zain waits for the witness downstairs at the entrance of the building where she lives so that he could talk to her about the case. In other words, both scenes reflect social home etiquette.

In the original version, Trevor tries to convince Mike to work with him as a drug dealer instead of cheating in exams. Trevor tries to emphasize how financially lucrative it is to work in the illegal drug industry, stating that: “I mean, look at me. This is a $2,000 suit, Mike.” In addition, Trevor asserts that he owns 12 suits, the price of each is $2,000, which means that he can afford to spend a large amount of money on luxury. In the Arabic version, Marwan says: “ya ma’allim, shaghliti illi mish a’gbaak di, hiyya illi ma’iyyishaani hina, min ghayrha kunti hab’a markuun fi ayyi kharaaba” (Bro, this illegal job that you do not like pays for my living here; otherwise, I would have been homeless). Some viewers may think that such scenes are not suitable for the Arabic version due to cultural differences, but drug dealing and drug consumption are common in the Egyptian streets; hence, both scenes reflect harsh realities. The adapted version emphasizes the grim reality of the Arab youth who has no work due to limited employment opportunities and limited financial support. Working as a dealer gives young people a prestigious life; otherwise, they will be unemployed and homeless.

One of the paradoxical issues occurs in the fifth episode of the adapted version when the kissing scene of the original version is replaced by touching hands between Adam and Shereen. At the same time, a similar ‘inappropriate’ scene is surprisingly added to the adapted version that involves drinking alcohol and flirting. One might wonder, if the former scene is deleted for cultural reasons, why the latter scene is added. These contradictions reflect the inconsistency by the adapted version makers.

5.7 Art

Adapting art with its wide range of media, such as music, literature, painting, and dance, from one culture into another requires a deep understanding of both cultures. Audiovisual adapters need to attend to the finest detail in order to make the content relevant and attractive to the target audience. This attentive localization process enables the audience to engage more fully with the series’ storyline, characters, and emotional beats, ultimately creating a more inclusive and resonant visual experience. The adapters’ efforts in localizing art in Suits for the target audience exhibited a variable level of success, alternating between instances of achievement and instances of failure. In essence, it can be described as a hit-and-miss endeavour, where some attempts proved effective while others fell short of the desired outcome.

For instance, one cannot explain why the song Perfect Day, which appears in the original version, is substituted with another American song, Came to Dance, in the Arabic version. Both songs are foreign and unfamiliar to the target Arab audience. Perhaps it would have been better to use either the same song or a familiar Arabic song. In another scene, Mike and Harvey’s driver argues about the members of Eddie Hope and The Mannish Boys, an American music band. In the Arabic version, Adam and Zain’s driver argues about the members of Les Petite Chats, an Egyptian music band. Furthermore, in the original version, Jessica gives Luis two tickets to attend King Lear, while in the Arabic version, Farida gives Qadri two tickets to attend Omar Khairat’s concert. Omar Khairat is a popular Egyptian musician. These changes can be explained in terms of cultural adaptation, i.e. to make it easier for the audience to understand what is being discussed without much effort. Peculiarly, a scene has been added to the adapted version with references to an American famous singer and actress. Angry with Zain, Qadri says mockingly “kunti ma’ jay lo mathalan” (Have you been with J Lo, for example?). The term ‘J Lo’ is an abbreviation for the name of the American singer and actress Jennifer Lopez. While the name of the singer might be familiar to some Arab viewers, the abbreviation might not be. It might have been more appropriate to refer to an equally popular Arab singer and actress, such as Haifa Wehbe, for example.

5.8 Linguistic taboos and code-mixing

Taboos are cultural, social, and religious verbal and non-verbal practices that are thought to be unsuitable, inappropriate, and prohibited depending on scenarios or contexts. Filmmakers are often aware of such taboos while remaking certain titles from one language and culture into another. It is crucial to be mindful and aware of anything that can be considered disrespectful, controversial, and inappropriate in the context of the target audience (Allan and Burridge 2006). Darwish and Abu Ain (2020), however, argue that in some series, linguistic and cultural taboos are purposefully exaggerated in order to attract more viewers by stirring controversy. They give evidence from Jinn, the first Netflix Jordanian series. Nonverbal taboos are discussed above when addressing ‘habits, morality and social customs’; therefore, this section focuses only on verbal taboos.

In the third episode, a client insults Harvey by calling him an S.O.B., whereas in the fifth episode of the Arabic version in the same scenario, the insult is replaced by a normal statement. The client simply says to Zain, “You are a provocateur.” This scene shows how the same scenarios are remade in a way that suits the target audience. It has to be said here that Arabs do often use taboo words in their daily lives, either as curses or as teasers for their intimate friends. However, most of the Arab audience would not accept such foul language in a TV series, especially if it is adapted from a foreign one. Darwish and Abu Ain (2020, 89) discuss this issue in detail with reference to the Jinn series. They explain that “in Jinn, those words are used by teenage students but because they are shown on screen and heard by viewers from different age cohorts, they are still shocking to most viewers. Some young viewers tried to defend this use of language arguing that they reflect a realistic use of language in their everyday casual conversations. Others agreed but still thought they were inappropriate for the Jordanian screen.”

The actors in the Egyptian version mix between Arabic and English. To illustrate, Adam addresses Qadri “ana mu’min giddan giddan bifikrit at-tiim weirk, hadritak.” In this example, Adam mixes between Arabic and English as he inserts the English compound noun ‘teamwork’ in the middle of the utterance. In real life, Arabs do such things to show that they are well educated and of high prestige. This verbal practice works well with Suits whose characters are mostly rich and handsome; therefore, making them mix English with Arabic seems to be a good technique to show their high social status. However, in some scenes, monolingual Arab audience may have been excluded. Moreover, in a few scenes, the pronunciation is not clear and causes some misunderstanding.

The results show that there are several similarities and differences between the source and the target versions of Suits. In comparing the original version and the Arabic version of Suits, it becomes evident that there exist multifaceted disparities between the two renditions. These distinctions primarily manifest in aspects related to culture and language, with occasional instances of inconsistencies. However, what remains clearly intact is the core essence of the series, the very quality that catapulted it to international acclaim. In the Arabic rendition, all the actors, writers, and creators involved in the production demonstrated a rigorous effort to replicate the success achieved by the original English series. The meticulous attention to preserving the essence of Suits while navigating the complexities of linguistic and cultural adaptation is praiseworthy. Despite the inherent challenges in transposing the narrative and its intricacies into a different cultural context, the overall outcome can be deemed commendable.