News

Gal Gadot is opening up for the first time about the commercial failure of Disney’s Snow White and shuts down reports of a strained relationship with co-star Rachel Zegler.

“I really enjoyed filming that movie, I really had fun”, said Gadot during an appearance on Israeli TV show The A Talks, which aired Thursday. “Even working alongside Rachel Zegler. We laughed and we talked, we had fun. I was positive the movie was going to be a huge hit. And then Oct. 7 happened, and what happened all over in different industries, not just Hollywood, there was a lot of pressure put on celebrities, actors, creators to post against Israel. And it happened. I can always explain and try to give people in the world context about the situation and the reality in Israel, and I always do that. But at the end, people make up their own minds. And...

In the ever-expanding catalog of streaming content, the celebrity travel show has become a familiar genre. Off Road enters this space with a simple premise that quickly complicates itself. The series follows popular Israeli actors Lior Raz and Rotem Sela on a month-long jeep expedition across the starkly beautiful terrain of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Presented not as a simple tourist jaunt but as an intense exploration of their platonic friendship, the show promises a journey into the wild. Their stated goals are to escape their hectic celebrity lives and find something real on the unpaved roads of Central Asia.

What the series actually documents is how, even in the most remote places, we often find only ourselves. The journey’s focus shifts from the external landscape to the internal, often claustrophobic, space shared between two people.

The Only Destination is Each Other

The series positions the dynamic between Lior Raz...

Lior Raz (“Fauda”) and Rotem Sela (“The Baker & The Beauty”) are set to star in “Off Road,” a Netflix unscripted reality series produced by Faraway Road Productions and Keshet International.

The series follows Raz and Sela, two famous Israeli actors who are real-life best friends, across a six-part road trip across Central Asia, as they discover the landscapes of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, while challenging their relationship and their personal beliefs. The six-part series will launch globally on Netflix on July 10.

Raz, Sela and Avi Issacharoff are co-creators and executive producers on the reality series, alongside showrunner Gal Raz and producer Ido Baron (“The Amazing Race”) at Baron Productions; Avi Nir at Keshet Media Group; Adi Ezroni at Faraway Road; and Keshet International’s Keren Shahar, Kelly Wright and Saar Dor. The format will be launched by Keshet International at Mipcom.

“An off-road journey has always been a dream of...

Israeli surrogacy drama “A Body That Works” has been renewed for a second season.

“A Body That Works” (titled “Goof Shlishi” in Hebrew) was Israel’s highest rating drama of 2023. The series, which stars Rotem Sela (“The Baker and the Beauty”) and “Fauda’s” Lior Raz, tells the story of a couple struggling with infertility who enlist a surrogate.

Season 2 will pick up directly after the last season, with Ellie (Sela) and Ido (Yehuda Levi) separated and co-parenting their son, who was delivered via surrogate Chen (Gal Malka). Raz plays a love interst.

Sela and Malka jointly won Series Mania’s best actress award at last year’s festival for their roles in the series.

All four leads return for the six-episode second season along with the creative team, comprised of director Shay Capon (“The Writer”) and executive producers Shira Margalit and Elad Koperman.

“Relationships and love will once again...

Exclusive: Netflix has picked up hit Israeli drama A Body that Works, which has sold to nearly 100 territories.

Last year’s top-rated Israeli drama, according to seller Keshet International (Ki), has been acquired by the streamer in Europe, Latin America and the U.S., as well as non-exclusively in Israel. It is the latest boon for the fruitful relationship between Netflix and Israeli networks, which has seen the streamer bring local hits like Shtisel to the world.

Elsewhere, A Body that Works has sold to AMC Networks International in Portugal and Spain, CBC in Canada and Sbs in Australia, while selling in a further 19 territories.

Starring Rotem Sela (The Baker and the Beauty) and Yehuda Levi (Fire Dance) as a childless couple who enlist the help of a surrogate (Gal Malka), the intimate drama – which also stars Lior Raz (Fauda) – stimulated national debate in Israel about fertility, family, and the autonomy of women’s bodies.

“Shtisel” star Ayelet Zurer is set to lead a new Israeli drama titled “The Best Worst Thing.”

In the new show Zurer plays Dr Amalia Levi, a breast cancer specialist who finds a suspicious lump in her chest. As she begins her own breast cancer journey, this time as a patient, she is unexpectedly joined by Micha Hadad (Amos Tamam), a male politician who has also just been diagnosed.

“As they embark on a shared treatment journey together, fuelled by hope and fear, they discover they have more in common than a disease,” reads the logline. “Under the shadow of a ticking clock, Amalia and Micha discover that the worst thing that could possibly happen to them is also the best thing that has ever happened to them.”

The eight-part series, which will premiere on Feb. 19 in Israel on local network Keshet 12, was created by Rona Tamir, Tal Granit, and Sharon Maymon.

Exclusive: The Israeli producers and writers guilds have been in talks with Series Mania bosses after the festival’s chief said it was “impossible” for a show from the country to be included in its official selection this year.

Sources from the Israeli sector reacted with alarm and contacted Deadline after reading the quote from Laurence Herszberg. Since then, we understand the Israeli Producers Association (Ipa) and Screenwriters Guild of Israel have sought clarification, after a local Israeli news site reported that Israeli broadcasters and producers had, in fact, submitted numerous shows.

The issue began when, unveiling the competition participants earlier this week, Herszberg claimed that “in Israel, many ongoing projects were shut down, making it impossible for Series Mania to include an Israeli production” for the first time in the fest’s history. She added that the festival had been affected by “several international crises” including the Israel-Hamas War and Russo-Ukrainian War.

Exclusive: Israeli roommate comedy Bloody Murray has found a European buyer in France and Germany’s Arte.

Yes Studios’ Series Mania award-winner’s first run will launch on the broadcaster this week under the name Dana & Murray, around a year after selling to CBC in Canada.

Created by Stav Idisis, the show stars Naomi Levov (On the Spectrum) and Rotem Sela (Beauty and the Baker) as the title characters. Dana is a gynaecologist and Murray a film lecturer specializing in romantic comedies. Their lives change when Murray flees the scene of a hit and run, and the man she crashed in to, Lior, shows up at her apartment – where he meets Dana and the two fall madly in love. However, Murray soon realizes that she has her own feelings for Lior.

A second season is in development following a re-commission by yes TV. The series was created and written by...

Israeli drama “Fauda” is returning for a fifth season, Variety can confirm.

Ilan Sigal, CEO of Israeli network Yes, revealed the news earlier this week, according to the Jerusalem Post. The newspaper reported that Sigal appeared alongside the show’s co-creator, Avi Issacharoff, at Yes’s annual “Bar Series” event to share the news.

Netflix streams “Fauda” internationally. The fourth season of the show, which was also meant to be the last, released earlier this year.

According to Israeli publication Ynet, “Fauda” was picked up for a fifth season following protracted negotiations between the network and the creators. No details have been confirmed in terms of the season’s plot or when it might air.

Issacharoff, an Israeli journalist, developed the hit series alongside the show’s star Lior Raz almost 10 years ago. It first premiered in 2015, telling the story of Doron (played by Raz), a commander in the Israeli army.

Apple TV+ thriller “Suspicion” is set to hit the sales block in Cannes at this year’s MipTV market.

Keshet International has revealed that the eight-part series starring Uma Thurman will headline its drama slate at the spring TV market in France, which kicks off on April 17. The Israeli TV distributor will shop linear rights for the series.

Apple TV+ commissioned Keshet U.K. to produce “Suspicion,” which is based on the popular Israeli series “False Flag” and launched on the service in February 2022. Its sales foray marks one of the rare instances where an original on a streamer (that’s still available globally on the platform) has been sold on the open market for linear rights.

In recent years, major SVODs have been focused on keeping originals on their own platforms for extensive periods in order to drive subscribers. However, in this case, it’s Keshet International that holds...

With Series Mania 2023 coming to a close, the event’s founder and general director Laurence Herszberg announced the winners of the Series Mania Festival today.

”We would first like to thank the public and the professionals who attended this edition, which brought together more than 85,000 participants for the Festival and 3,800 participants from 64 countries for the Forum. We are delighted to announce our prize list and figures that have far exceeded our expectations,” said Herszberg.

With the rise of streaming across the world, Series Mania has become one of the most attractive events in the global TV calendar. It’s largely looked at as a place where writers, distributors and producers can liase with each other in a less formal setting than compared to a TV sales market. It includes not just the festival, the Forum, key conferences, keynotes, and pitching sessions.

This year the festival screened 54 unreleased series, with 32 world premieres and 10 international premieres.

The Iranian series The Actor from director Nima Javidi picked up the top Grand Prize jury award at Series Mania, the international TV festival that wrapped in Lille, France on Friday night.

The drama from Iran is led by the Venice best actor winner Navid Mohammadzadeh and follows two down and out actors struggling to make ends meet as they run a derelict theater in Tehran with wealthy Iranians as patrons.

The international jury, led by screenwriter and producer Lisa Joy, also gave its best actor trophy to Michael Sheen for his performance the U.K. series Best Interests, while the best actress prize went to Margot Mancilhon for her star turn in the French series Haven of Grace.

The Series Mania international jury also gave the best writing trophy to John Kâre Raake for The Fortress series from Norway.

In other prize giving, the International Panorama jury, led by French writer Herve Le Tellier,...

Lille, France — Headed by a commanding performance from Navid Mohammadzadeh, superbly shot and packing arguably the best opening scene of any series in Series Mania main competition, Navid Javidi’s “The Actor” won the Grand Prize at Series Mania on Friday night.

The top Series Mania award for the “The Actor” also proves vindication for the Festival which this year has broadened its geographical reach in an effort to discover new narrative modes and styles. Consistently subordinating narrative to mood, “The Actor” certainly wins on that score.

Main scribe John Kåre Raake (“The Quake”) and co-scribe Linn-Jeanethe Kyed (“Bø”) scooped best writing for “The Fortress,” a banner upcoming Viaplay title produced by Norway’s Maipo Film and sold by TrustNordisk, which delivers a telling political cautionary tale for our times, a chic isolationist parable thriller set in an alternative Norway which has built a wall to keep foreigners out. When a virus strikes,...

Event wrapped in Lille against backdrop of nationwide unrest in France.

Navid Javidi’s The Actor starring Navid Mohammadzadeh was awarded the International Competition grand prize at 2023 Series Mania in the first year in which content from Iran participated in the event in Lille, France.

Series Mania founder and general director Laurence Herszberg summed up the event as it came to a close, noting that this year’s edition drew more than 85,000 festival participants – representing a significant increase on last year’s 70,000 – and around 3,800 from 64 countries for the industry forum.

Besides Iran, debutant participating countries included Japan, Argentina, UAE, Turkey,...

The 2023 London Screenings, which unfold Feb. 27 to March 3, take place in an increasingly crowded international TV calendar. The event kicks off just days after the Berlinale Series Market, overlaps with the BBC Studios Showcase and precedes Series Mania and MipTV.

The week-long showcase has established itself as a key place to acquire the best of British and international programming. All major global TV distributors, spanning 26 companies, have a plethora of content to offer across genres and formats, and a series of screenings, meetings and events have been lined up.

To help you cut through the slates, Variety has surveyed the goods from key international distributors. Here are our picks of 15 shows that will whet buyers’ appetites.

A Body That Works

(Keshet International)

“A Body That Works”

An intense triangle involving love, jealousy, desire and selflessness sees a childless couple enlist the help of a surrogate to conceive. At the heart...

Keshet Media Group have unveiled their upcoming slate, which includes a new series starring “Fauda’s” Lior Raz.

Raz is set to star alongside Rotem Sela (“The Baker and the Beauty”) and Yehuda Levi (“Fire Dancer”) plus newcomer Gal Malaka in “A Body That Works.” The eight-part drama, titled “Goof Shlishi” in Hebrew, sees a couple hire a surrogate as they seek to have a child.

“[‘A Body That Works’] is an emotionally charged tale of two women and a man, all connected by a bond so powerful they cannot escape one another, even when there is nothing they’d rather do more,” reads the logline. “This is a drama about relationships and parenthood, whose heroes deal with the conflicting desire to become parents alongside the fear parenthood stirs in them. It is also a tale about the deceptive power dynamics between the haves and the have-nots, between the takers and the givers.”

Shira Hadad...

Israeli network Yes TV has greenlit a second season of Series Mania Award-winning comedy Bloody Murray, we can reveal.

Production will begin next year on Stav Idisis’ romcom, which is headlined by Naomi Levov (On the Spectrum) and Rotem Sela (Beauty and the Baker), who play two 35-year-old roommates looking for love.

The Gynaecologist and University Lecturer’s lives change when Murray (Levov) ditches the scene of a hit-and-run and the man she crashed into, Lior, shows up at her apartment – where he meets Dana (Sela) – and the two fall madly in love. Murray realizes her own feelings for Lior and chaos ensues as she convinces herself Lior is the one for her.

The show, which won the Best Comedy Award at Series Mania 2022, will launch in 2024. Director is Yogev Yefet, Kastina Communications and Yes TV are producers and Yes Studios handles distribution.

Last week, Deadline revealed Amazon Prime Video...

Exclusive: Here’s a strong first English-language trailer for director Rama Burshtein’s (Fill The Void) anticipated TV debut Fire Dance, which has just been announced for Series Mania’s main competition.

The story of impossible love set in a tight-knit ultra-Orthodox religious community heralds from Shtisel, Fauda and Your Honor outfit Yes Studios. Launch is lined up for spring of this year.

Laced with fantasy, the seven-part series tells the coming-of-age story of a troubled young woman, Faigie, who’s grown up in a broken home and falls passionately in love with Nathan, the 35-year-old married son of the leader of the ultra-orthodox community where they both live. Nathan is also the owner of a workshop which employs seamstresses who live with mental illness, run by Faigie’s mother, Rayzee. Following a failed suicide attempt, Faigie becomes part of Nathan’s household, helping to run the home while Nathan’s wife,...

Exclusive: Sharon Levi has been hired as the new Managing Director of Tel Aviv-based producer and distributor Yes Studios, known for hit series such as Fauda, Your Honor, and Shtisel.

Levi will lead Yes’s distribution and co-production arm following the departure of 20-year company vet Danna Stern who revealed her exit last month on LinkedIn. Stern’s next gig has yet to be announced.

Levi has two decades of experience in music and TV, most recently serving as Head of Sales at Armoza Formats, the ITV Studios-owned company, where she oversaw deals with Fox, NBC, Netflix, the BBC, and more.

As part of her role, Levi will oversee the distribution of Yes Studios series as well as develop co-production opportunities for Yes’s scripted titles with international partners.

Yes Studios’ upcoming slate includes Fire Dance, the inaugural series by filmmaker Rama Burshtein-Shay, and Bloody Murray, a nine-episode rom-com,...

Israel’s leading multi-channel platform Yes TV and its production-distribution arm Yes Studios will be launching a record 43 series and documentaries in 2022. The lineup includes several new shows in post production, notably “Fire Dance” and “Bloody Murray,” and some series in development such as “Alef.”

Yes Studios — which is behind two of Israel’s biggest scripted hits in recent history, “Fauda” and “Shtisel” — is co-developing “Aleph,” a six-part series that’s being co-created by Odelia Karmon based on her book “Confidante” about the behind-the-scenes happenings of Israel’s political leadership. Karmon worked for more than 25 years as press adviser for Israel’s top political figures, from Benjamin Netanyahu to Ariel Sharon and former president Moshe Katsav. Karmon accused Katsav of rape during his term as tourism minister, and her key testimony led to his resignation in 2007. He was convicted on two counts of rape, among other charges, and sentenced to seven years in prison.

Exclusive: On the heels of the just-aired finale of its well-received new drama series The Chef, Fauda and Shtisel outfit Yes Studios is ordering a second course, officially giving the green light for a second season of the Israeli drama.

Created by Erez Kavel and Orit Dabush, the nine-episode drama launched in Israel last November and was the second most-watched drama on yesTV this year, following season three of crime-thriller hit Fauda.

The series comes from Yes Studios and Kastina Communications and follows an unemployed high-tech worker who starts working in the kitchen of a prestigious restaurant run by a brilliant chef, who is struggling to stay relevant and keep his place at the top of Tel Aviv’s ultra-competitive gastronomic world.

The drama explores toxic masculinity and the fragility of the male ego through the juxtaposition of the two male characters. The new cook is a family man collapsing...

Catching up on news from and beyond NATPE Miami, ITV Studios and Hot begin shooting on “Jerusalem,” while Disney Plus starts production on its first originals in Spain and Argentina, Newen ropes its French production companies together as Newen France, Beyond Rights sells 250 hours of content in Spain and Portugal and Onza Distribution gets the global rights to new Spanish game show “The Celebrity Challenge.”

Production

Drama Team, in association with ITV Studios and Hot, have kicked off shooting on their new thriller series “Jerusalem,” created by “Blank Bullet’s” David Ackerman.

Inspired by Ackerman’s previous career in national security and the multicultural nature of the city, “Jerusalem” unspools in the lead up to the Jewish fast of Tisha Be’av and the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Adha. It turns on Superintendent Amir, a well educated and culturally literate lawman who too often puts his work ahead of his own family,...

In today’s Global Bulletin, West One International will distribute climate doc “Earth Emergency,” Cheng Cheng Films gets “A First Farewell” for North America, Discovery U.K. commissions a docuseries on the Children of God cult, Drama Team’s “Jerusalem” goes into production, the British Independent Film Awards announce nine craft category winners and the Red Sea International Film Festival opens the call for its Lodge training program.

Distribution

West One International has closed a deal with Moving Still Productions for international TV distribution rights for the climate change documentary “Earth Emergency,” narrated by Richard Gere with contributions from Greta Thunberg, Jane Fonda and the Dalai Lama, as well as a roster of distinguished scientists and environmentalists.

Picking up where its predecessor, the short film anthology “Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops,” left off, “Earth Emergency” paints a more hopeful picture of the future if warnings are heeded and changes are made soon.

Israel’s leading pay TV group Yes Studios has unveiled a first-look teaser for its new drama series “The Chef” in the run-up to the series’ local launch on Yes TV in November.

Created by Erez Kavel and Orit Dabush, “The Chef” was selected at the Zurich Festival, Berlin TV Series Festival and the SerienCamp Festival in Munich. “The Chef” is the first drama launched by Yes Studios since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The show’s production was halted in mid-March when Israel went into full lockdown, and it was one of the first series to resume production once the restrictions were lifted in mid-June.

“The Chef” follows an unemployed high-tech worker who starts working in the kitchen of a prestigious restaurant run by a brilliant chef struggling to stay relevant and keep his place at the top of Tel-Aviv’s ultra-competitive gastronomic world.

“The Chef,” produced by Ayelet Imberman and Meny Aviram,...

Israel’s Yes Studios (“Fauda”) has unveiled a first look clip and photos of the anticipated third season of its hit Netflix drama “Shtisel,” and has announced two new shows, “The Chef” and “Embezzlement.”

“Shtisel,” whose first two seasons are available on Netflix, follows a Haredi family living in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Jerusalem reckoning with love, loss and the doldrums of daily life.

Created and written by Ori Elon and Yehonatan Indursky, the series stars Michael Aloni, Doval’e Glickman, Neta Riskin, Sasson Gabai and Shira Haas, the star of Netflix’s “Unorthodox” who is nominated for an Emmy Award. “Shtisel” was produced by Abot Hameiri, a Fremantle company, and is directed by Alon Zingman.

The third season of “Shtisel” picks up four years after the events of the previous season. Comprising nine episodes, season three of the show started filming last month and will be airing on Yes TV in Israel later this year.

Israeli broadcaster Keshet 12 is rebooting entertainment format All Together Now around 14 years after the show was last on air.

The Tedy Production game show will be rebranded under its international title, Can’t Stop The Music, and was filmed in a studio last week after Israel began lifting coronavirus restrictions. It will premiere tonight.

Hosted by Rising Star presenters Rotem Sela and Assi Azar, the show features two celebrity teams competing in a studio to win a series of musical challenges and puzzles, with viewers joining in the fun from home via video.

Hilik Sharir, Keshet 12’s vice president of programming, said: “During this difficult time,...

Israeli commercial channel Keshet 12 has reordered Tedy Productions’ musical gameshow “Can’t Stop The Music,” 15 years after its original debut on the channel.

Formerly known as “All Together Now,” and renamed with new international title “Can’t Stop the Music,” Keshet 12’s initial order of five hour-long episodes is set to premiere in a primetime slot from Thursday.

Again produced by Tedy Productions, “Can’t Stop the Music” is led by “Rising Star” hosts Rotem Sela and Assi Azar. 2018 Eurovision winner Netta and Israeli pop star Mergui are among the celebrity talent taking part.

The run was filmed last week in a studio, and comes as the Israeli government has approved a series of steps to ease coronavirus lockdown restrictions, including a partial reopening of the economy and certain stores.

Alongside an expert improvisational pianist, two celebrity teams compete in the studio to win a series of musical challenges and puzzles, with viewers joining from home via video.

Exclusive: Former Dynasty star Nathalie Kelley is set as the female lead in ABC’s pilot The Baker and the Beauty, an hourlong romantic comedy based on the Israeli series, from Keshet Studios, Universal TV and ABC Studios.

Written by Dean Georgaris and to be directed by David Frankel, The Baker and the Beauty follows the impossible Miami love story between a simple baker and an international superstar, Noa Hollander (Kelley) has it all: She’s the most famous woman in the country, the beautiful daughter of a real estate magnate, a successful model with an international career and, up until now, one half of a Hollywood power couple. The son of Cuban immigrants, Daniel Garcia is a simple guy who still lives with his parents and works at the family bakery. A chance encounter at a fancy restaurant — where Daniel may or may not propose to his eager girlfriend...

“2025,” the splashy new Israeli reality TV show touted by Keshet for months, has sunk in the ratings to a new low in just its third week on air.

The show premiered in early February to a 21.1% share of the Israeli viewership, a disappointing figure for an original reality series – and one that Keshet spent tens of millions of shekels to produce. By contrast, the third season of Israel’s “Celebrity Big Brother” premiered on rival network Reshet in January with a 27.4% share.

After its Feb. 10 bow, ratings for “2025” hovered around 15% before dropping further in recent days, and Keshet decided to cut back on the show’s primetime episodes, from four times a week to three. For Monday evening’s installment, the network brought in two of Israel’s most popular TV hosts, Assi Azar and Rotem Sela, to run a challenge for the contestants. But even that failed to give a boost to the ratings,...

ABC has ordered the American adaptation of “The Baker and the Beauty” to pilot.

Based on the Israeli romantic comedy series of the same name, the series tells the story of the unlikely romance between a blue-collar baker and an international superstar. Theirs is a relationship that not only upends their own lives, but the lives of their two very different families.

Dean Georgaris will write and executive produce, with David Frankel set to direct and executive produce. Avi Nir, Alon Shtruzman, Peter Traugott, and Rachel Kaplan of Keshet Studios will also executive produce along with original series creator Assi Azar. Universal Television and ABC Studios will produce in association with Keshet.

Georgaris most recently worked on the screenplay for the hit film “The Meg.” His other feature credits include “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life,” “Paycheck,” the 2004 remake of the “The Manchurian Candidate,” and “Tristan + Isolde.

ABC has given a put pilot commitment to an American adaptation of the Israeli series “The Baker and the Beauty,” Variety has learned.

The new version of the one-hour romantic comedy series follows the Miami love story between a simple baker and an international superstar. Noa Hollander has it all: she’s the most famous woman in the country, the beautiful daughter of a real estate magnate, a successful model with an international career and – up until now – one half of a Hollywood power couple. The son of Cuban immigrants, Daniel is a simple guy who still lives with his parents and works at the family bakery. A chance encounter at a fancy restaurant leads to unexpected sparks and an even more unlikely love story.

Dean Georgaris will write and executive produce, with David Frankel set to direct and executive produce. Avi Nir, Alon Shtruzman, Peter Traugott, and Rachel Kaplan...