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Got Far: The Israeli Series That Succeeded Abroad | Israel Today

2021-04-15T07:02:00.221Z


On the occasion of Independence Day, we chose the screenwriting successes that were born here but gained recognition in the Diaspora • "Kidnapped", "Neat", "Fauda" and more | TV


On the occasion of Independence Day, we chose the screenwriting successes that were born here but gained recognition in the Diaspora • "Kidnapped", "Being With Her", "Fauda" and more

  • The world loved.

    Fauda, ​​Homeland, in care, the beautiful and the baker

    Photo: 

    Showtime, to her Spinopoulos courtesy of yes

The country is celebrating 73, and in honor of the occasion we gathered some of the screenwriting successes born here, because at this stage of the Israeli television industry's integration into the international one there are far too many names to recognize, and series that captivated audiences even far away and proved how Israel is a small country flooded with buyers.

Due to lack of space we focused on the most loved ones, but worthy mentions must also be given to "traffic light", "yellow peppers" and "boys", each of which has enjoyed varying degrees of success in the foreigner.

The Safe

At the beginning of the current millennium, CBS acquired the original TV show created by Erez Tal (who even then boasted the nickname "TV genius") Uri Gross and Ruthi Nissan, and Haaretz (or at least its TV industry) rejoiced.

The idea that a trivia game in essence, whose laws were practiced and concocted by an Israeli mind that also guided it, would have its own versions abroad was inconceivable.

Did not go into the rules and regulations of the "safe" here, mainly because they were not simple at all and felt very far removed from more accessible formats in serving Tal, such as "Wheel of Fortune", but in the first decade of the 2000s there was still room on television for more complex formats.

And so the game show "The Safe", which finally went off the air in the country in 2007, found itself sold to channels in other countries such as Russia, Thailand, France, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Portugal, Cyprus, Greece, Romania and Russia and Britain.

For Erez Tal, of course, he did only good (image-wise, professionally and financially), and the big sale confirmed his status as a person with a golden touch when it comes to small screen content. 

"Neat" which became "Loaded"

Say she's too light, say she's a little superficial.

All true.

But one thing can not be taken from "Arranged", the comedy series by Molly Segev and Assaf Harel that aired on Keshet in 2006 and became a big hit (not least thanks to the theme song "What I want" by Sharon Holtzman) - and that is the fact that it is very fun .

The idea was simple: at the height of Israeli idealization for the high-tech world and start-ups, when young entrepreneurs or programmers went out of 8200 and started making millions, getting rich here and adopting nouveau riche manners, Harel and Segev came and wrote a series about just that.

Childhood / military members who make the long-awaited exit, become millionaires in a second, do not quite know how to deal with the money and the new class and of course, learn along the way an important lesson on how much money it is cool but even with it the problems remain the same.

The four arranged ones were played by Asi Cohen, Eran Zarhovich, Maor Cohen (three of whom will play Shauli, Amatzia and Karko of "Parliament" a few years later) and Harel himself, each a character of his own who copes differently with his new large fortune.

The Israeli version was great and left a taste of more (after ending only two seasons later), before the American network "Fox" acquired the rights to produce its own version of the show.

Although this did not happen in the end, it was precisely in the British market that they expressed interest and in 2017 the British Channel 4 aired their version of "Neat", which was aptly named "Loaded".

Other than that, if you too think that being "tidy" is a bit more reminiscent in essence and spirit of the "entourage", you are not alone.

"In Treatment" which became "In Treatment"

The success of "Arranged" was only the beginning of Blitz's sale of the Israeli series for production abroad.

Some will say it is not even considered a great success, and they are not entirely wrong.

But the popularity abroad of Hagai Levy's "In Treatment", which became "In Treatment" outside Israel, is hard to argue with. 

It can be said that the idea of ​​"in therapy", which by its name implies a psychological procedure between therapist and patient, is so simple and universal that it is not clear how it was not thought of before.

But it would not be entirely accurate, for the simple reason that someone had really thought of it already: Remember "The Sopranos" and the psychological treatment scenes of Tony Soprano and psychologist Dr. Malfi? Or even in the comedic drama "Eli Parallel." But "In Therapy," centered on the character of The therapist Reuven Dagan, played by Asi Dayan, turned the scenes in these series, designed to motivate the plot or give a new angle, dimension and depth to their characters, into itself. It worked so well (and did not require too much in terms of production costs), two years after the series dropped An American version of the HBO network appeared in Israel in 2008, which was a great success and acclaim.

The foreign "treatment" was largely based on the Israeli script (and even its opening melody remained as in the original Israeli series, created by the man of the tractor's revenge, Avi Ballali).

She has won two Emmy Awards (out of four nominations), the Screenwriters Guild Award and the Golden Globe Award out of five nominations.

It finally went off the air in 2011 after three seasons, but just a few months ago HBO confirmed that the series will be revived in a fourth and new season very soon, on May 23rd.

"In Treatment" is considered the first Israeli series to be sold and also succeeded in its English version.

In many ways, the success of "In Treatment" has marked Israel as a leader in programs and formats with international potential for success.  

"Kidnapped" which became "Homeland"

Here is a rare example of a series that was successful in Israel, but abroad it was even more successful. "Kidnapped", created by Gidi Raf, received a lot of "no" from various production bodies, until she met Ron Leshem, then Keshet's VP of content, who decided to give it OK.

Carried on the waves of momentum and success of "Treatment", "Kidnapped" aired in Israel in March 2010 and immediately captivated many viewers to the screens, not least due to the fact that she dealt with issues that were taboo in the local creative world, when she told the story of two kidnapped soldiers returning to Israel after 17 Years in Syrian captivity.

Like another series on this list - Asi Cohen took part in it, as did Yishai Golan, Yael Abkasis, Sandy Bar and Millie Avital.

During her two seasons, "Kidnapped" touched on the most exposed Israeli wound of all - the dilemma of captivity, becoming national symbols and dealing with the difficulties of reintegrating into society (with a more complex and mysterious story hidden beneath it).

It should be remembered that its first season was broadcast while before Gilad Shalit was captured from Hamas captivity, so the charged issue was at the center of an active media and public discourse.

But it turns out that this issue was not the only one in Israel.

In December 2009 it was announced that the FOX network had acquired the production rights for the series.

Thus was born "Homeland", an American adaptation starring Claire Daines and Damian Lewis, which was a huge success.

The sister from America scooped the Golden Globe Awards in the "Best Series" category in 2011-2012, won her actors Globe Awards in the actor and actress categories and also picked up the Emmy.

The broadcast rights for the original series were sold to the streaming platforms "Hollow" and the British channel Sky Arts, and the production rights were also sold to other countries to the United States, such as India, Russia, Turkey, Korea and Mexico.

In the New York Times' December 2019 ranking, the magazine considered the Israeli version to be at the top of the list of the best international series of the decade it has ridden.

"Being With Her" which became "Beauty and the Baker"

The concept behind "Being With Her," the romantic TV comedy written and created by Asi Ezer, was a classic love story between classes.

One you have even seen in "Aladdin", minus a monkey and with an Israeli twist.

Aviv Alush played Amos Dahari, a baker from Bat Yam and a popular and quite simple guy.

Noa Hollander, played by Rotem Sela, is a model, celebrity and high-class - economically and socially.

They soon fall in love and are ready for another adventure, as you would surely expect from this basic but effective story.

"Being With Her" aired in Israel at the end of 2013 and was a success, but ended in 2017 only two seasons later (with the third being in development these days, after it already seemed like it would never return to the screen - more for a writer's personal reasons and not lack of demand).

In the meantime, it has garnered interest from the British Channel 4, which from the summer of 2016 began broadcasting it as it is in Hebrew (in intra-industrial jargon it is called "tape") under the name "Beuty and the Baker", with English subtitles.

Less than a year later, the series was sold to Amazon and in 2018 "Be With Her" aired on Netflix.

And it does not end there: In May 2019, the ABC broadcast network received approval to produce a pilot for an American version of the series, which aired exactly a year ago in the production of Universal Television, ABC Studios and Keshet Studios.

The American version of the Australian streaming service Stan was later sold, while the original Israeli version was sold to the Slovenian channel Planet TV.

Other countries where it has been sold to produce local versions are Russia, Greece, Brazil, the Netherlands and India.

Not bad at all.

"Euphoria" which became "Euphoria"

And here's a great example of the success of recent years.

Between 2012 and 2013, a drama series was broadcast on HOT that made quite a bit of noise here.

"Euphoria" focuses on the lives of young Israelis who symbolized the exact opposite of the protagonists of every nineties youth series, such as "Dawson's Creek", the terrible "Hillside" and their sisters in the genre.

Where Brandon, Dylan, Kelly and their friends in the mythical "Beverly Hills 90210" did experience sex, drugs and alcohol but were harshly judged and presented a didactic message of avoidance, in "Euphoria" (written by Ron Leshem and directed by Daphne Levin) there was no place or need for apologies .

The characters in the series, members of Generation Z, had sex, drank alcohol and for a moment did not feel the need to explain themselves.

"Euphoria" told the story of a generation who grew up with screens close to his eyes, who does not know how to accept "no" and his emotional threshold is higher than yours.

Much higher.

In Israel, the series created a media uproar, which began with a critique of the shocks and ended with a public debate, when Cable Council member Orly Yehezkel called for its removal from the screen because "it presents our youth in a very negative light."

Ezekiel was angry at the absence of a responsible adult in the series, describing it as "a difficult, non-educational series that is not appropriate at all."

Dealing with the issue, like any public controversy, has heightened interest in "Euphoria," enough to get HBO to upload in June 2019 "Euphoria," a successful American version (and some would argue - even more extreme).

Israeli names Roni Dalumi and Maor Schweitzer have entered hot names in the American television market, such as actress Zandaya (remembered from "Spider-Man"), Maude Apatow (daughter of creator Judd Apatow) and Sydney Sweeney from "The Story of a Slave."

So far the foreign version has been broadcast in one season (plus special) and it will return soon for a second season.

In the meantime, she has won critical acclaim for her plot, acting and use in photography and cinematic language.

"Fauda"

Most of the series presented here dealt, as mentioned, with topics that could be of interest to the right adjustments foreign audiences.

Identification is of course an important thing in any content encounter with an audience.

But the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is difficult to translate into other countries, due to its complexity, complexity and very typical of the region.

It is hard to think of such a tumultuous and crazy situation that has been normalized in the sphere for many years, and which would adapt itself to a similar situation elsewhere on the planet.

In the case of "Fauda" (a term meaning "chaos" or "mess" in Arabic) it was not really necessary.

 "Fauda", written by journalists Avi Issacharoff and Lior Raz, who also plays in it, aired in early 2015 on yes.

She told the story of members of an undercover unit in the face of Hamas terrorists, and managed to combine drama, action, suspense and round and complex characters.

The point of connection of many Israelis to it was natural, almost self-evident, and it gained (and in fact still enjoys, after three seasons and one that will come later) great popularity, praise from critics and a host of television academy awards.

 "Fauda" was so good that it went up exactly as it went to Netflix's global streaming service in November 2016. It is considered one of the first series to be sold as it is to foreign broadcasters, and the truth is that as its reviews abroad - "Fauda" works Also great for translating into English or any other language.Just as series like "Paper House" have proven - action and good writing work well in any language. 

Source: israelhayom

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