Ramy Youssef has created his third HBO comedy special.
“Ramy Youssef: In Love,” which will be released on April 17, was filmed at the Hideout in Chicago and directed by “The Bear” creator Chris Stoller. The special’s official logline states that Youssef “playfully engages with the audience on a variety of personal topics, approaching both the hilariously relatable and the deeply serious, with the belief that we can find light and hope in all things if we simply seek to see them through the lens of love. Whether it’s marriage, dog parenthood, AI, or religion, Ramy approaches everything with his unique heart and humor.”
In the trailer for the special, a narrator says, “He is the most famous comedian who did not participate in the Saudi comedy festival.” On stage, Yousef said, “I didn’t do that because I wasn’t invited. My wife and her whole family are in Saudi Arabia. I’m going there anyway. I’m the only person in Hollywood who is losing money by going to Saudi Arabia.”
In another joke, he talks about the use of AI in social media. “Do you guys see what’s going on with Grok? Any photo of a woman, they turn it into porn,” he says. “I thought of one defense. Really, the only thing that would help is if all the women wore all black, but only through their eyes,” he continued, as the audience laughed and realized he was referring to the niqab, a face-covering garment worn by some Muslim women. “For years, I’ve thought, ‘Why would they let them wear that?’ And now it’s clear. It was a prophecy,” he continued, in an Egyptian accent, “‘Sarma! I will never let them gross you out!'”
Youssef’s first HBO special, “Feelings,” aired in 2019, followed by “More Feelings” in 2024. In addition to his stand-up work, he is best known for the comedy series Ramy, which aired for three seasons on Hulu from 2019 to 2022. He is also the co-creator of Mo Amer’s Netflix series “Mo”, which aired for two seasons from 2022 to 2022. He is the creator and voice actor of Amazon Prime Video’s animated comedy “#1 Happy Family USA,” which premiered in 2025. In 2023, she appeared in the film Poor Things directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, and in 2025 she appeared in the HBO film Mountainhead directed by Jesse Armstrong.
“Ramy Youssef: In Love” is produced by Youssef’s Cairo Cowboy banner, with Youssef writing and executive producing. Storer, Tyson Bidner and Josh Sr. will also serve as executive producers.
“Ramy’s third HBO special feels like home for him and for us,” Nina Rosenstein, HBO’s executive vice president of late-night and special programming, said in a statement. “He has a rare ability to make the room just you and him and use that intimacy to say something that catches you completely off guard. Filming in a small Prohibition-era bar in Chicago only deepens that intimacy. There’s a vibrant, timeless quality to it, resulting in something special that feels completely and unmistakably Ramy.”
Watch the trailer below.
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