Best Moroccan series and shows to watch this year

Social dramas, sitcoms, darija-dubbed series, Amazigh drama and long-running formats: a guide to the best Moroccan series and where to find them.

Looking for the best Moroccan series and shows to follow this year? Rather than a list of titles that changes every season, this guide walks you through the genres Moroccan television does well, the channels that broadcast them and how to keep up when you miss an episode. The channels themselves are presented one by one on our page about the full list of Moroccan TV channels.

Whether you live in Casablanca, in Lyon or in Montreal, the same channels carry the same stories. What changes is how you plan your viewing, and that is what this article is about.

Moroccan television speaks to its audience in its own languages: darija first, but also Amazigh, Modern Standard Arabic and French. Stories are set in recognisable places, from old medinas to new apartment blocks, and they deal with everyday life: family, work, money, marriage, migration and the gap between generations.

That closeness is why so many Moroccans abroad keep watching. A series on 2M or Al Aoula is a shared reference at family gatherings, a way to keep the language alive for children and a reminder of home.

The two main national channels, 2M and Al Aoula, produce and broadcast most of the big Moroccan drama series. These are usually social dramas: family conflicts, inheritance disputes, love stories across social classes, life in the countryside versus the city. Many run for a season of around thirty episodes, often timed for Ramadan, and are repeated later in the year.

If you want the evening series as they air, the simplest way is to watch 2M live in HD or follow Al Aoula live on every device. Both pages explain what each channel shows and how it looks on IPTV.

Comedy holds a special place in Moroccan TV. Short sitcoms with recurring characters, sketch shows and hidden-camera programmes are watched by the whole family, usually right around ftour during Ramadan. They often use popular comedians and play on regional accents, family situations and daily frustrations everyone recognises.

Outside Ramadan, comedy appears in the weekend schedule and in repeats. If you only watch one genre with children or grandparents, this is the one that brings everyone to the same screen.

Some formats have been on Moroccan screens for many years and are worth knowing. Lalla Laaroussa, on Al Aoula, follows couples from different regions competing around wedding traditions, and it is as much about Moroccan customs as about the competition. Studio 2M is the channel's long-running singing talent show, which has introduced a number of Moroccan artists to the public.

Talk shows, cooking programmes and religious programmes complete the picture. They are less talked about than drama, but they fill a large part of the daytime and weekend schedule and are often what older family members follow most closely.

Two more channels deserve a place in your favourites. Medi 1 TV, based in Tangier, mixes news, magazines and entertainment in Arabic and French, with a strong focus on current affairs in Morocco and the Maghreb. Its evening programmes are a good complement to the drama of the national channels.

Al Maghribia is the national broadcaster's channel for Moroccans living abroad. It brings together a selection of programmes from the other national channels, including series, news and cultural magazines, which makes it a convenient single stop if you only want one Moroccan channel on a busy evening.

For years, Moroccan channels have broadcast foreign series dubbed into darija, especially Turkish and Latin American dramas. Dubbing into the everyday Moroccan dialect made these stories feel local and gave them a very wide audience, particularly in the afternoon and early evening.

If you prefer the original versions or the Arabic-dubbed editions shown across the Middle East, the Gulf and Egyptian channels in the Arabic IPTV packs are the place to look.

Tamazight, the Amazigh channel of the national broadcaster, airs drama, comedy, documentaries and music in the three main Amazigh languages of Morocco: Tarifit, Tamazight and Tachelhit. Its series are often rooted in rural life and local history, with landscapes from the Rif, the Atlas and the Souss.

For families who speak Amazigh at home, especially abroad, these programmes are one of the few regular sources of television in their own language.

Aflam TV is dedicated to cinema and broadcasts Moroccan films alongside Arab and international titles. It is a good way to discover Moroccan cinema from different decades, from classic dramas to recent comedies, without hunting for each film separately.

Live television runs on Moroccan time, which is not always your time. Three tools help you keep up. The electronic programme guide (EPG) in your player app shows what is on now and next on each channel. The films and series section (VOD) of the subscription includes on-demand content you can start whenever you like. And some channels offer catch-up, so you can go back to a recent programme where the channel provides it.

If you are new to these terms, our explanation of what is IPTV covers EPG, VOD and catch-up in plain words.

A little planning saves a lot of searching. Here is a simple routine that works for most households.

• Pick one drama and one comedy per season rather than trying to follow everything.
• Add the channels you use most to your favourites in the player app.
• Check the EPG on Sunday evening for the week's main programmes.
• Keep weekend afternoons for films on Aflam TV or the VOD section.
• Abroad, note the time difference with Morocco once and set reminders on your phone.

All Moroccan channels are included in the three weweb plans, from 300 DH for 12 months. See the details on the IPTV subscription page, or start from the IPTV Morocco home page.