Gabriel (played by Michael Aloni) and Rochel (played by Yuval Scharf) in “The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem.” Photo: Yes Studios.

The first trailer dropped on Monday for Israel’s new television series, the period drama “The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem.”

Yes Studios — the Tel Aviv-based producer and distributor behind “Fauda,” “Your Honor,” and “Shtisel” — announced on Monday that it has completed production on the historical melodrama, and the series is set to launch in Israel early this summer on Yes TV.

Based on the international best-selling novel of the same name by Sarit Yishai-Levy, the show is set in the early to mid-20th century and tells the complicated multi-generational story of the Ermosa family set against the backdrop of the Ottoman Empire, the British Mandate, and Israel’s War of Independence. The series, which begins in 1917, “is a colorful, passionate, and tragic story interwoven with Judeo-Spanish traditions and the history of a nascent country,” according to Yes Studios. It was filmed in Hebrew, English, Ladino, Turkish, and Arabic.

The show’s cast includes “Shtisel” star Michael Aloni as well as Hila Saada (“The Baker & The Beauty”), Itzik Cohen (“Fauda”), Yuval Scharf (“McMafia”), Mali Levi, (“The Angel”), and newcomer Swell Ariel Or, who plays Luna Ermosa, the titled Beauty Queen of Jerusalem.

Filming took place during the COVID-19 pandemic with production following safety guidelines and protocols. The series was shot throughout Israel, including historical locations in Jerusalem, Safed, Acre, and other cities. 

“The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem” was created by Shlomo Mashiach, Ester Namdar Tamam, and Oded Davidoff. The series is written by Shlomo Mashiach (“Your Honor”) and directed by Davidoff. It is the most expensive investment to date for Yes TV and also one of the most expensive productions to ever come out of Israel.

Yes TV has already commissioned two seasons of the series.

Danna Stern, managing partner at Yes Studios, said, “There is a first time for everything and ‘The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem’ is our first foray into costume drama; lush, colorful, romantic and historic — it’s a great combination as we’re all looking for a little escape to another time and place.”

Artza Productions Co-CEO Dafna Prenner added: “A period drama about issues that are as relevant as ever today, a family tale of different generations that keep on making the same mistakes and a love story about the absence of love. ‘The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem’ is a story that Shai and I found impossible to resist. Combined with the amazing talent of creators Shlomo Messiah, Ester Namdar Tamam, and Oded Davidof and shooting in the age of COVID this has been an experience we will never forget.”