It’s an odd time for Texas to bankroll the production of a show like “Mo.”
The series, which centers around the title character Mo, short for Mohammed, is about an illegal Palestinian immigrant and devout follower of Islam. Texas taxpayers helped fund the first season.
At its core, the show is subversive to the values most Texans espouse. It’s anti-border security television that normalizes Islam and presents a one-sided view of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Records show the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program, the state’s film grant system that’s housed in the governor’s office, funded the first season of “Mo” to the tune of $1.2 million.
Mohammed’s portrayal by the writers as a hard-working, devoted son filling in as a stand-in patriarch after the death of his father is meant to elicit sympathy, priming the audience for opinion-shaping.
Mohammed is shown struggling to support his family while on the run from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In the first episode, he’s fired after ICE raids another shop that his boss owns. Mohammed resorted to selling merchandise on the street from the trunk of his car and later became a strip club DJ.
Islam takes center stage in the show through Mohammed and his family’s greetings and prayers. His mother is shown reading the Qur’an. “Islam is real practical. You talk to G-O-D anytime,” Mohammed says while criticizing Catholicism. In the third episode, he claims, “Jesus was Palestinian.”
Currently, Texas officials are cracking down on a planned Islamic development in North Texas.
Also, state lawmakers are currently debating expanding taxpayer funding of films.
In the second episode, while chatting with two Texan olive farmers, Mo describes Palestine as the “land of milk and honey.” When in conversation, it’s shown this phrase is associated with Israel, Mo calls that “a branding issue.”
Mo is an effort in branding.
The show’s star and showrunner, Mo Amer, echoed similar views in a January 2025 interview with Hollywood trade publication Variety. On the topic of Israel’s response to the October 7 terrorist attack, Amer said that his Palestinian “family is living under occupation.” He claimed that those living in the West Bank are “still under apartheid law.”
This is an example of what Texas’ film grant program has funded so far. It is unknown whether or not funding more projects like these will be part of the program’s potential expansion.
The show is available on Netflix, a company where the left has significant influence. Susan Rice, former advisor to the Biden administration and Barack Obama’s national security advisor, is on Netflix’s board of directors.
State Sen. Joan Huffman (R–Houston), the author of the proposed expansion, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
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