Zarqa (Zarqa Nawaz) is a divorced Muslim woman. When she sees the news that her ex-husband is about to remarry posted on social media, she must get revenge. Commenting on his announcement post that she’ll be attending with her fictional brain surgeon boyfriend Brian she embarks on a campaign to find her imaginary date. As luck would have it, she matches on a dating app with an actual Brian (Rob van Meenen), a mild-mannered, woke brain surgeon. Battling a spying ex-sister-in-law, a son who worries she’ll go off the deep end, and Brian’s super white parents, Zarqa’s plan snowballs into countless mishaps when cultures clash and burn.
Zarqa takes misconceptions about Muslim life and coats them in dry humour and quirk. Nawaz is not only the star of the series, but she also takes show creator and writer credit. It’s no surprise since she’s also the creator of the award-winning CBC series Little Mosque on the Prairie, which ran from 2007 to 2012. With Zarqa, this web series serves up clever bite-sized episodes about a middle-aged Muslim woman and her misguided antics. Look for the snappy dialogue, charming characters and a candidly funny look at the Muslim-Canadian experience, building bridges between communities with tons of LOLs.
