TV Drama Series

There are currently four popular TV drama series trending, either on Netflix or on Israeli TV.  They are all extremely impressive from the point of view of the quality of production.  I highly recommend all of them!!

Two Light-hearted series about religious communities in Jerusalem

Women’s Balcony (Yismach Hatani) is a series about the attempt to take a joyous Sephardi religious community, with strong women figures, and turn it into an ultra-orthodox community where the women are pushed into peripheral roles.  This is a feel-good series, with lots of humor, and a large dose of quirky stereotypes of Sephardi men and women.  The series is based on the feature film of the same name, directed by Emil Ben Shimon, which was reviewed on this blog.

Shtisel provides a surprisingly charming and realistic look at an ultra-Orthodox family.  Previously reviewed on this blog, there are now two seasons available on Netflix and a third season on Israel TV.

Two Dark dramas with difficult messages

Fauda is a thriller about a highly trained Israeli military unit that is active in fighting terrorism in the West Bank and sometimes in Gaza.  The series, already reviewed on this blog, is available on Netflix. 

Black Space is a series (one season only) currently available on Netflix.  The narrative is about an Israeli police detective who is assigned a terrible case of shootings at a local high school.  At first, everyone assumes that the perpetrators are Palestinian terrorists.  But the detective quickly understands that the murders were perpetrated by students themselves.  Without offering a spoiler, this is a story about a high school principal who believes in covering up bad behavior, including bullying.  Some students decide to take matters into their own hands.