BBC Newsbeat<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Reflecting back on the Netflix hit based on his own life, there are two things that come to mind for Palestinian comedian Mo Amer.<\/p>\n Pride and hurt.<\/p>\n “It’s very difficult to talk about without breaking down at some point,” he tells BBC Newsbeat.<\/p>\n He is the star of the semi-autobiographical show titled Mo, playing the role of Mo Najjar.<\/p>\n The character is a Palestinian refugee learning to adapt to his new world as he seeks to gain US citizenship by navigating a complicated immigration process – all while trying to bring together his cultures and languages.<\/p>\n Making a show so closely tied to his life was “very taxing” because of “the sheer amount of emotion” involved.<\/p>\n “I’m extremely proud of it. I put my soul into it and I’m still hurting from making it,” Mo says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n There was another challenge to navigate – when this second season would be set.<\/p>\n The final episode, which depicts Mo’s visit to his family home in the West Bank, is set on 6 October 2023.<\/p>\n That’s a day before the armed Palestinian group Hamas launched an unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages.<\/p>\n This triggered a massive Israeli military offensive in Gaza, which has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.<\/p>\n Avoiding 7 October in the storyline was “very intentional”, Mo says. <\/p>\n The show is ultimately “grounded in comedy”, he says, and episodes set post-attack drew focus away from the storyline and the characters.<\/p>\n “You weren’t really tracking them, the emotions of them,” says Mo.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Mo says he wanted to keep the “greater context” in mind and that focusing on 7 October and its aftermath “almost insinuates this just started”.<\/p>\n “That couldn’t be further from the truth,” he says, referring to the long history of the conflict.<\/p>\n There was a practical consideration too, he says, due to the length of time between filming and release being over a year.<\/p>\n “That was kind of like scary territory to write about something, and then all these things would happen.<\/p>\n “And then whatever you had written and composed in the series could be irrelevant.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The show has broadly had a positive reception, with the finale being emotional for fans – and Mo.<\/p>\n It tracks the character’s journey with his family to the Israeli-occupied West Bank and their experience of life there.<\/p>\n From his perspective, it shows the complicated day-to-day Palestinians can face, such as being subjected to closer scrutiny at checkpoints controlled by Israeli soldiers.<\/p>\n Mo’s character is also shown being tear-gassed.<\/p>\n The West Bank – land between Israel and the River Jordan – is home to an estimated three million Palestinians and half a million Jewish settlers.<\/p>\n Along with East Jerusalem and Gaza, it is part of what is widely known as the Occupied Palestinian Territories.<\/p>\n Israel occupied the areas in the 1967 Middle East war and built settlements, which are considered illegal under international law. Israel disputes this.<\/p>\n Palestinians claim the areas for a future independent state and want all the settlements removed.<\/p>\n “I’ve gotten so many calls from people just completely in shambles after watching the last episode and how meaningful it was to them to watch,” Mo says.<\/p>\n He adds it was “not only Palestinians” contacting him.<\/p>\n Mo says the final episode – originally 60 minutes long – was “almost like we filmed a movie” before it was eventually edited down to 39 minutes.<\/p>\n He says he wanted to cover “the main strokes”, which included how difficult it can be to enter and live as a Palestinian once there.<\/p>\n “Immediately, you’re not on vacation,” he says. “You’re on edge, actually.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Mo feels there has generally been limited representation of Palestinians in TV and film, which means more pressure on his shoulders.<\/p>\n “There’s a lot of [pressure] from the fans\u2026 more outside voices of what I should say and not say – both Palestinian and non-Palestinian,” he says.<\/p>\n “You really have to put the blinders on and stay focused on telling the story that I know and that I’ve experienced first-hand.”<\/p>\n Mo says he can’t “walk away” from being seen as a spokesperson for Palestinians, admitting to feeling “like public property at this point”.<\/p>\n “I think that everyone just needs to manage their expectations. But I’m not going to shy away from it,” he says.<\/p>\n “Those that agree with me or disagree with me\u2026 it’s important to continue the dialogue and have a conversation.”<\/p>\n The ceasefire agreement in Gaza has provided some hope that there could be an end to fighting, but it has also felt fragile with concern that deal could collapse.<\/p>\n Mo says he is “always hopeful” things can get better.<\/p>\n “I never lose hope. <\/p>\n “If you do, then it becomes a really, really sad place whenever you’re devoid of hope,” he says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Eddy](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/b873\/live\/8168c270-f9e8-11ef-9e61-71ee71f26eb1.jpg.webp\")
Eddy Chen\/Netflix<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/bbcx\/grey-placeholder.png\")
![\"Eddy](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/c391\/live\/9a2e7700-f9e8-11ef-8c03-7dfdbeeb2526.jpg.webp\")
Eddy Chen\/Netflix<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n‘I never lose hope’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
![\"Eddy](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/43ce\/live\/acf91a70-f9e8-11ef-9e61-71ee71f26eb1.jpg.webp\")
Eddy Chen\/Netflix<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Eddy](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/3263\/live\/c0fe87d0-f9e8-11ef-896e-d7e7fb1719a4.jpg.webp\")
Eddy Chen\/Netflix<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/8366\/live\/74a706f0-15d7-11ef-9b12-1ba8f95c4917.jpg.webp\")
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