MBC Studios, the production arm of leading Saudi media company MBC Group, has begun filming Rise Of The Witches – the biggest ever TV series to be made in the country. The 10-part adventure-fantasy series is being shot on purpose-built sets at NEOM, a $500bn megacity that is under construction in the northwest province of Tabuk, and holds the largest ever budget for special effects for a Saudi production, according to MBC.

The series is directed by Declan O’Dwyer and Craig Pickles, with production led by Dominic Barlow, and MBC Group’s Zeinab Abu Alsamh as executive producer.

It marks the latest big-budget production to shoot at NEOM. Last year, Desert Warrior shot in the region, a $150m feature directed by Rupert Wyatt and starring Anthony Mackie, produced by Start Ford’s AGC Studios and Jeremy Bolt at JB Pictures in partnership with MBC Studios.

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