The Exchange on Netflix: Release date, air time, what to expect, and more details explored

Netflix is all set to start exploring a new avenue of filmmaking with The Exchange, the streaming giant's first venture to the Middle East. Based in the 1980s Kuwait, this new series will focus on Rawan Mahdi as Farida and Mona Hussain as Munira. The series will premiere on Netflix on February 8, 2023, at 3.00 pm EST.

Netflix recently released a trailer for The Exchange. The vibrant and fast-paced trailer introduces us to the finance world of Kuwait in 1987 while giving us a glimpse of the two leading ladies, who will be the crust of the story. The plot will only become clear when we watch The Exchange, but for now, it seems that this will be a tale of two women trying to stand their ground in a world of men.

The Exchange cast includes Mohammed Almansour, Jasem Alnabhan, Hussain Almahdi, Faisal Alamiri, Maryam Alsalih, and Esmahan Tawfiq, among many others. Read on for more details about the upcoming series.

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The Exchange Netflix trailer: "Do you see me now?"

The lengthy and informative trailer for the upcoming six-part show is quite explanatory of what the series aims to bring to the table. The Middle East is a region notorious for gender inequality. Netflix is all set to dive into the lands of the Arabian Nights and showcase how two women in the 1980s decided to swim against the tide.

The trailer also revealed that the series is based on true events, indicating that this is a part of the country's history. After a lengthy introduction to women and the world of finance, the trailer depicts how the men do not want intervention in "their" world of finance, eventually leading to massive unrest between them and Farida and Munira. Farida and Munira will also be interesting characters with distinct stories.

The brief synopsis for the show reads:

"Set in Kuwait in 1988, two women making their way in the boys club of the Kuwait Stock Exchange, on the eve of Saddam Hussein's invasion of the country."

The Exchange was created by Nadia Ahmad, Anne Sobel, and Adam Sobel. In an interview with Variety, Ahmad and producer Abdullah Boushahri revealed many things about the series, including the vision they plan to follow. Nadia Ahmad reportedly went for this story because of her own background in finance.

In the interview, Nadia Ahmad explained:

"The investment banking business was a big thing in the ’70s and ’80s in Kuwait. There was lots of money to go around and not enough people doing money management, you know what I mean?... My mom was a single mom — she was solely financially responsible for me, and she wanted the best for me.

Ahmad further said:

So she entered the investment banking world, and I was consistently around women who were also doing the same thing, who were shattering stereotypes of Khaleeji [people of the Arabian Peninsula] women. These women were pioneers, they were the first to enter these male-dominated spaces."

Boushahri also reflected on the topic during the same interview and said:

"It’s a story that happens in a workplace, which makes it very tough to make it entertaining. So in the beginning, the subject matter seemed very, very challenging. I was afraid of getting into a show that would be just about offices and people, which would make it difficult for people to follow."

Catch The Exchange on Netflix on February 8, 2023. Stay tuned for more updates.