Many Muslims consider gays and lesbians to be sinful. In some parts of the Arab world, members of the LGBTQ community have been arrested and sentenced to prison. Some countries even maintain the death penalty.

The move also comes as regional streaming services try to eat into Netflix’s revenue, including the Shahid service operated by the Saudi-owned MBC Group. The Saudi government is believed to hold a controlling stake in MBC Group after a series of arrests in 2017 ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over corruption allegations that saw him centralise power in the kingdom.

Netflix has limited content previously in Saudi Arabia.

In 2019, activists blasted the streaming service for pulling an episode of comedian Hasan Minhaj’s Patriot Act that criticised Prince Mohammed over the killing and dismemberment of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as well as the kingdom’s involvement in the war in Yemen.

Netflix at the time said the episode was removed from the kingdom as a result of a legal request from authorities and not due to its content.