About The Eight (Al Thamania)
The Eight, known in Arabic as Al Thamania, is a Saudi-produced crime thriller that premiered in June 2022 on MBC and the streaming service Shahid. Written by Turki Al-Sheikh and directed by Ahmed Medhat, the eleven-episode limited series brought together a pan-Arab cast led by Egyptian stars and was filmed across locations including Cairo, Paris, Lille and Marrakech. It was positioned as one of the platform's flagship dramatic releases for the year.
The story follows a tight-knit criminal organization built on a strict internal code. When one of its most powerful figures breaks the rules, the group resolves to eliminate him, but the plan collapses and the targeted man survives. What follows is a tense game of betrayal, loyalty and revenge as alliances inside the cartel fracture and old debts come due, with the action moving between glamorous European cities and the group's home turf.
Stylistically the series leans into a slick, internationally minded thriller register, pairing high-stakes set pieces with character-driven scenes of mistrust among partners who can no longer be sure of one another. The ensemble structure lets the narrative shift perspective among several members of the eight, giving the show its title and its central question of who can be trusted when the rules that once held the group together have been broken.
