We shtisel you not. Popular Israeli TV show that follows a fictional, Haredi, Jewish family living in Jerusalem, “Shtisel,” is getting an American adaptation, which was picked up by Amazon last week, according to a report by deadline.com.
Shtisel, which first aired in 2013, will be adapted for U.S. audiences by Etan Cohen, the Israeli writer behind “Tropic Thunder” and “Men in Black 3.” Marta Kauffman, co-creator of “Friends” and Netflix’s”Grace and Frankie,” will be producing the U.S. version, which will be titled Emmis, the report also said.
Kauffman recently sold another miniseries with Israeli ties — “We Are All Completely Besides Ourselves,” — to HBO. That show, based on the novel by Karen Joy Fowler of the same name, will star Israeli-born actress Natalie Portman and lists Israeli creator of Homeland, Gideon Raff, as an executive producer.
In honor of Shtisel coming to American television, here are five other Israeli or Israeli-Adapted US TV shows worth your time:
Homeland
Homeland reigns among the most popular Israeli-adapted TV shows. Based on the Israeli show “Hatufim” (“Abductees”) created by Raff, Homeland just completed its fifth season last year and will be airing Season 6 in January 2017. The show, which airs on Showtime, follows the story of CIA agent Carrie Mathison, (played by Claire Danes), and also features Jewish actor Mandy Patinkin, whose character on the show, Saul Berenson, (spoiler alert) is Jewish. In 2012, the show was filmed in Israel, with Haifa substituting as Beirut.>
In Treatment
If you don’t want to take our word for it, “In Treatment” was an award-winning show, which aired on HBO from 2008 to 2010. While the series only lasted for three seasons, it resulted in over a hundred episodes. The show followed psychologist Dr. Paul Wetson (Gabriel Byrne) in his weekly therapy sessions with his patients and aired either four or five episodes a week over the course of seven weeks. The series was adapted from the Israeli TV show “BeTipu”l (“In Therapy”) created by Israeli writer Hagai Levi, who also co-created Showtime’s “The Affair.” That’s a handful, even for Freud.
Srugim
Okay, while this show is just an Israeli show and has not been adapted for American audiences (fingers crossed), it is available with English subtitles on Amazon Prime. “Srugim” aired for five seasons on YES TV in Israel from 2008 to 2012 and depicts the lives of five religious zionists living in the Katamon neighborhood of Jerusalem. The show is also available on Hulu so just log into your roommate’s ex-girlfriend’s aunt’s account and get cracking.
Traffic Light
While there are other Israeli-adapted shows that lasted just one season (like “Hostages,” or “The Ex List”) Traffic Light has had a more successful after-life. The show is currently streaming on Netflix and is based on the Israeli series Ramzor (“Traffic Light”) which follows the lives of three best friends living in Givatayim (east of Tel Aviv). Green means go people.
Rising Star
While “Rising Star” never quite stuck with American audiences, it sure was fun while it lasted. A singing competition in the same vein as American Idol or the X-Factor, The Rising Star was hosted by Josh Groban with judges Kesha, Ludacris and Brad Praisley and lasted 10 episodes in 2014. The show was based on the Israeli singing show HaKochav HaBa (“The Next Star”) which itself is a continuation of Kochav Nolad (“A Star Is A Born”). Otherwise the show didn’t make it in the states, it was otherwise a successful Israeli export — There are international versions in 16 total countries.>
