The Exchange star Mona Hussain says second season of the hit Netflix show will 'defy expectations'

Actress says new episodes of Kuwaiti Netflix drama will offer something 'completely different'

The Exchange draws inspiration from the true story of the first women in the Kuwaiti Stock Exchange. Mona Hussain, pictured, stars as Muneera. Photo: Netflix

Mona Hussain knew she was part of something special when she took a lead role in The Exchange but nothing could have prepared her for the global sensation it would become.

The Netflix series follows cousins Farida (Rawan Mahdi) and Munira (Hussain) as they set out to prove themselves in the 1980s stock market in Kuwait. The cut-throat industry was an all-boys club at the time. The series draws inspiration from the true story of the first women in the Kuwaiti Stock Exchange.

Season two, scheduled to be released on the streaming platform sometime in 2025, will take another stride forward and “defy expectations”, says the actress.

Speaking to The National, Hussain says was taken aback by the popularity of the first series. “I couldn’t wrap my mind around it,” she says. “People from different countries, different continents, were tuning in and became fans of the show.”

Yet, the global reaction also instilled a certain feeling of responsibility. “Now that we have earned the trust of the audience, we have to build upon that,” she says. “I felt I had to be careful that people were waiting to see what we come up with for season two.”

The first six episodes, Hussain says, offered something new in the landscape of Arab television. The cast and crew were mindful of the fact. “We knew the show was going somewhere different, and we were confident of our efforts and the process,” she says.

“We knew we were offering something of high quality, whether in directing and acting to the visual design of the show. Now, season two is completely different to season one and will again offer something new and unexpected.”

The first season ended in the chaos of the 1987 stock market crash – a global moment of uncertainty that had affected the Kuwaiti exchange as well. The episode concludes with a triumphant moment as Munira emerges as the bank’s manager. Yet, the ending may offer very few clues about what’s to come, Hussain says.

“In every show or film, a sequel carries forward the original plot line,” she says. “The Exchange two is a continuation, but at the same time, it’s a whole new show.”

Hussain says it was a joy to again take on the role of Munira, a confident and goal-orientated person who, even when helping others, prioritises her own success.

“We filmed season two a full year after the first premiered,” Hussain says. “It’s impossible for any actor to stay in any character for that long of a time. So it took some work to embody Munira again. Then there were several new elements to the character that we had to implement.”

That’s also true for all the characters returning for season two. “You won’t see any of them as you knew them,” she adds. “You’ll see changes in them, whether emotionally or through how they look or the jobs they have. We didn’t simply copy and paste.”

Besides The Exchange, Hussain has a number of other projects in the pipeline that she is excited to share soon. Among these is a series that will be releasing during Ramadan, which she hints has a star ensemble. “It’s a different role,” she says. “Something I haven’t done before.”

Season two of The Exchange is scheduled to be released on Netflix sometime in 2025