Egyptian starlet Donia Samir Ghanem hosted the first episode of "Saturday Night Live Bil Arabi" (SNL Arabia), which aired Saturday night on satellite TV channel OSN Ya Hala after being filmed in Cairo.
The prominent comedic actress starred in the Arabic version of the highly anticipated debut of the Arab world's version of the hit American comedy show.
The episode, which was directed by renowned Egyptian director and screenwriter Amr Salama, featured other familiar faces such as Egyptian comedians Shady Alfons and Khaled Mansour .
"Red Riding Hood VS. the deceiving wolf. Today at 7 p.m. Egypt's time/8 p.m. Saudi Arabia's time on OSN Yahala HD."
Alfons and Mansour, who shot to stardom after starring in Bassem Youssef's "Al-Bernameg," are also lead writers for the program along with prominent Egyptian comedian George Azmi.
The show's debut followed OSN 's promise to stay faithful to the original show's iconic format, a commitment that was made when the Middle Eastern pay-TV giant announced the launch of SNL's Arabic version last October .
The first episode included the main elements of the famous SNL mix including comedic sketches, musical performances, parodies, cultural satire and self-deprecating comedy led by a celebrity guest, which in this case was Ghanem.
The show's producer and some of its comedians spent time in New York when they were preparing for the show's launch in order to truly soak up SNL's production style, according to AP .
However, the program did miss one key element that has long distinguished SNL from other comedy shows, which is that SNL is live.
Although "SNL Bil Arabi"'s first episode was shot in front of a live audience in Cairo's prominent theater Studio Masr, it was recorded days before the airing of the show on Saturday night.
"The start is very good. You are all truly talented."
Viewers didn't seem to mind the sidestepping of this one SNL defining quality, as the show's debut was very well-received on social media, with users especially praising the talented cast and Ghanem's starring role.
"SNL Bil Arabi" was also praised for the quality of its production and for being authentically Arab in its material, not just creating a translated spin-off using an Arab cast.
While the show will continue to be broadcast on OSN, it will be available for free when it's acquired by Egypt's CBC in three months. The second episode of the show will feature prominent Egyptian actress Mona Zaki as its celebrity host.