MBC 1, a company owned by Saudi Arabian sheiks, created the Arabic adaptation. Amr Hosny, a scriptwriter who frequently adapts works for the Arab world, served as the writer. The creative personalities behind "Al-Shamshoun" were Egyptian. The producers decided to adapt the "classic" episodes, beginning with Season 4, rather than starting with the original episodes. The characters were also given typical Arabic names such as Omar, Mona, Beesa and Badr for Homer, Marge, Lisa and Bart, respectively, as part of the retooling, while voices were provided by leading actors including Egyptian film star Mohamed Henedi as "Omar". Their hometown "Springfield" was called ""Rabeea"" (Arabic for "spring") and made it look like an American town with a major Arab population. Poplak said, "Although Fattouh and MBC will give no figures, the licence fees from 20th Century Fox could not have been cheap."