Manayek

This Israeli series is centred on Izzy Bachar, a policeman approaching retirement who works in the Internal Affairs Division. When, following a shooting, it emerges that the arrested attacker was a serving police officer Izzy is called in. The officer offers to name corrupt senior officers in exchange for a lighter sentence. The most senior of these is Barak Harel, a good friend of Izzy's. At first he recuses himself from the investigation but is brought back in and soon thinks the statement about his friend might be true.

I really enjoyed this series. Unlike many series that are full of twists and turns it lets us know who is corrupt early on and shows us their attempts to keep themselves from being implicated. The characters feel real, each with their own motivations and the thought that some have been drawn into corruption rather than been that way from the start. Izzy is a great protagonist, unlike the typical Hollywood lead he is world weary; Shalom Asayag does a fine job in the role. Unfortunately only the first season is available on Channel Four in the UK; hopefully they will get further seasons as I really want to know what happens next. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to fans of the genre.

These comments are based on watching the first season in Hebrew with English subtitles.

This is the first Israeli TV series I have watched, although I have familiarity with Israeli culture. If you liked the British TV series Line of Duty, then this is worth a look.

There are 2 seasons to date, with a credible storyline that carries through both. It's essentially about police Internal Affairs officers investigating high level corruption at various levels in the Israeli police force.

The acting is generally good, the script is mostly well written and the direction is generally competent, although not exemplary. There is plenty of attention on the main characters' personal stories as well as the complex web of police investigations.

It's rather rough around the edges with no pretentiousness and little refinement, compared with the more nuanced approach in Line of Duty. The stories are very loosely based on real events in the history of Israeli police, and it's quite revelatory how the main IAD characters cope with the myriad of hurdles and obstructions thrown their way with sad resignation and frustration, almost an acceptance of how things just are. For those who don't live there, it's also quite an interesting reflection of Israeli cultural approach to life in general.

Manayek is a very good Israeli production of the British Line of Duty.

Both deals with police corruptions and shows each country nuance of cultures.

Must see both.

This was another ForeignTV Series which I loved. I'm a Kiwi living in Australia but will never watch anything Australian as I much prefer the Storyline's, Acting etc from Countries/Actors such as France, Sweden, Norway, Danish, Icelandic, German, England, Israel, USA, New Zealand (yes I'm biased but the locations are out of this World) etc. I love the "Noir genre" of TV Series and Movies. There was one thing in this Series (also seen in another Foreign Series) which puzzled me which was, the need for a Dog. It really didn't serve any real purpose except the few times it was outside on the grass being walked and the couple of scenes when people came home from work but totally ignored it which I felt sad about. Having a Dog, let alone such a huge Dog was superlative to the Storyline as it could have simply been replaced with the Owner just outside walking alone.

Season 2 of this fantastic show did not disappoint! And they very clearly set up a Season 3 , so hopefully that will happen soon. Excellent character development and acting and a story that keeps twisting just when you think it's all done. The actress who plays Tal is just outstanding. This season in particular she really blew me away and had me in tears. Very real stuff. I just want the episodes to keep coming but look forward to the next season being just as good as they have set it up to be. My only complaint is that the subtitles could be alot better. I don't know much Hebrew but can still tell some of the phrases are translated poorly. But otherwise, an awesome awesome crime/cop show!!