Say Yes to The Dress Arabia on Starzplay in partnership with Discovery
January 26, 2022
Starzplay, the SVoD service in the MENA region, has partnered with Discovery to present its ‘Original’, ‘Say Yes to the Dress Arabia,’ available to stream exclusively on the platform from February 11, 2022, with two episodes released each week.
‘Say Yes To The Dress Arabia’, a Starzplay Original, is coming to the Middle East for the first time. It gives brides from the region a once-in-lifetime opportunity to feature on the show and find their perfect wedding dress.
The Arabian edition is the 25th local spin-off of the popular series featuring 20 brides from various cultural backgrounds, ranging in age from 23 to 50, all in search for their dream wedding dress.
Shot at the Hazar Haute Couture in Dubai – the largest wedding dress producer in the Gulf region – the bridal boutique houses an unrivalled collection of one-of-one bridal dresses, that perfectly accommodated the bridal budgets ranging from $615 to $14,000.
‘Say Yes to the Dress Arabia’ beautifully captures the emotional journeys of brides-to-be, bundled with the show’s trademark fun family drama, as each loved one holds their own opinion on the dress. Hosted by renowned Lebanese celebrity stylist, Khalil Zein, an expert and in-demand stylist in the Arab world, Khalil has dressed many celebrities from across the region, including Haifa Wehbe, Rahma Riad, Nancy Ajram, Maya Diab, and Nadine Nassib Njeim, to name a few.
A virtual event to mark the show’s launch was held by Starzplay and Discovery. Joining several of the brides in the event were host Khalil Zein, Khaled Benchouche, SVP of Programming & Acquisitions, Starzplay and Anouska Widdess, Senior Director of TLC & Channel Operations, Discovery Communications.
Say Yes to The Dress Arabia Host Khalil Zein, said: “It is an honour to be part of a show with such an iconic legacy and it brings me great pride to be part its first regional appearance. The process of helping the brides, from a plethora of different backgrounds, was a fruitful challenge. I am very excited for the viewers to watch what we worked so hard to put together and I am sure they will enjoy every bit of it as much as we did. Thank you to the Starzplay and Discovery teams for giving me this wonderful opportunity.”
Khaled Benchouche, SVP of Programming & Acquisitions, Starzplay, said: “The addition of ‘Say Yes to the Dress Arabia’ to our content portfolio reflects Starzplay’s commitment to bring quality content to our local audience. ‘Say Yes to the Dress Arabia’ showcases a diverse roster of brides with many different backgrounds and stories, which will indeed resonate with our viewers. The series underlines Starzplay’s focus on delivering world-class homegrown content with regional relevance, and we are proud to add it to our library of Starzplay Original shows.”
Anouska Widdess, Senior Director of TLC & Channel Operations, Discovery Communications, added: “TLC’s Say Yes to The Dress is one of Discovery’s most beloved global franchises, having gained a cult following worldwide. We are proud to be partnering with Starzplay to finally bring the region its own edition, especially since MENA is famous for having some of the most glamorous weddings and brides. We trust regional viewers will enjoy the diversity of dresses, personalities and culture the show has to offer.”
discovery+, the definitive non-fiction, real life subscription streaming service from Discovery, Inc., signed an exclusive deal with Starzplay in July 2021 to bring ‘Say Yes to The Dress Arabia’ to the region. Fans of ‘Say Yes to The Dress’ can already enjoy plenty of seasons of this popular series on the discovery+ add-on channel on Starzplay.