'The Brave' Producer Keshet Preps Israeli Comedy 'Stockholm' For U.S.

Israeli black comedy Stockholm is being adapted for the U.S. by The Brave producer Keshet Studios.

The international sales division of the Israeli firm previously took worldwide distribution rights to the four-part series, which was produced by Artza Productions, and now its LA-based scripted division, which is run by Peter Traugott, is developing a local remake.

Based on the novel by Noa Yedlin, it follows four friends who attempt to help their friend win the Nobel Prize in Economics even after he is found dead. They try to keep him “alive” for five days to help him win the prize but their quest to keep Avishai’s death a secret quickly turns into an overwhelmingly complicated challenge.

For this lively group of 70-somethings, what begins as a tribute to a friend – one seemingly borne purely out of loyalty – is the start of a revealing journey into their lives and their regrets, one that tests the very limits of their bonds as friends. Their attempts to keep a secret go wrong time and time again – leaving viewers to wonder exactly how far will they go to help Avishai die a Nobel Prize winner? And is it really all in the name of friendship?

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In addition to producing military drama The Brave with Universal Television for NBC, the company has a number of projects in development for this broadcast season including romcom The Baker and The Beauty for ABC and Lincoln, based on The Bone Collector books, for NBC.

Separately, Keshet International has sold the finished tape of Stockholm to CBC in Canada – the show’s first international sale. The show will launch on the public broadcaster’s recently launched streaming service CBC Gem.

Elsewhere, Brazil’s Globosat has acquired rights to Hebrew language dramas Sleeping Bears and Commandments, while Keshet International-distributed Turkish drama 7 Faces has been picked up by Australia’s SBS.

Keren Shahar, KI’s COO and President of Distribution, says, “It’s an exciting time to be a distributor of quality foreign language drama. The market is becoming more language agnostic and really opening up to content from all countries and continents. It is so validating to see such a broad range of titles from our slate connecting with international buyers over the last few months.”