Fox International, Warner Bros Acquire Israeli TV Shows ‘False Flag’, ‘Girlfriends’ For U.S. Market
Error: Contact form not found.
by Joshua Levitt
A poster for Showtime's "Homeland," based on Israel Program "Hatufim," Prisoners of War. Photo: Showtime.
A poster for Showtime's "Homeland," based on Israel Program "Hatufim," Prisoners of War. Photo: Showtime.
After the success of Showtime Network’s “Homeland,” based on Israeli series “Hatufim,” two more Israeli television programs have been acquired to be reproduced for U.S. audiences, Israel’s Globes business daily reported.
Globes said “Shkufim,” False Flags, and “Haverot,” Girlfriends, were bought by Fox International and Warner Brothers Studios, respectively.
“Shkufim” is based on the story of the assassination in Dubai of a senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, Globes said. “It involves eight ordinary Israelis who wake up one morning and discover that their names, faces, and personal details have been splashed across the world’s media on suspicion of involvement in an international crime. What begins as an apparent case of mistaken identity, escalates into a psychological espionage drama,” the newspaper said. In the Fox series, to be called “False Flag”, the characters will be Americans, rather than Israelis.
“Shkufim” was developed by Amit Cohen-Raab and Maria Feldman for Keshet International, which will be the joint producer, with director Peter Landesman. The program was sold before airing in Israel, scheduled for 2014 by Channel 2.
Keshet developed the show “Hatufim,” Prisoners of War, which formed the basis of the U.S. series “Homeland,” while Cohen-Raab also co-wrote the espionage show “The Gordin Cell,” sold to NBC as “Mice.”
Warner Brothers Studios will produce a pilot of the Israeli comedy show “Haverot,” Girlfriends, for CBS. Channel 10 broadcast “Haverot” earlier this year to fairly strong ratings and its second season is now in production, Globes said. The prime time comedy is about a group of women dealing with married life and their first children.
The show’s creators, Lital Schwartz, Yoav Gross, Shay Ben-Atar, and Liat Shavit, will participate in part of the U.S. production, while Greg Berlanti, whose credits include “Arrow” and “Brothers and Sisters,” will head the U.S. production, Globes said.
