Shira Haas. Photo: Eyal Nevo

Award-winning Israeli actress Shira Haas, best known for her roles in the Israeli show Shtisel and the limited series Unorthodox, has joined the cast of a new television series by yes Studios that recently started production.

The Tel Aviv-based production and distribution company revealed on Tuesday details about its new 10-part psychological drama series called Night Therapy, which will also star Yousef Sweid (Munich Games, Game of Thrones). The actor plays an Arab-Israeli psychologist named Louie who struggles with raising his two children following the suicide of his Jewish-Israeli wife. Hoping to be more present in his children’s lives during the daytime as they move forward after the death of their mother, Louie decides to see patients at night instead. Haas will play one of his patients, a computer genius who stays mostly at home and prefers to focus on the virtual world as opposed to the real one around her.

“Through the gateway and magic of the late clinic hours, and flashback scenes where Louie acts as an unseen observer to their problems, the series depicts refreshing points of view on life, which often require unusual treatments,” said yes Studios about the show. “Combining absorbing therapy sessions — written with the input of practicing psychologists  — with storylines and characters from Louie’s personal life, Night Therapy will be a touching, emotional and sexy series.”

The show’s cast includes Lucy Ayoub, Yaakov Zada Daniel and Firas Nassar, all of whom have starred in yes Studios’ hit  series Fauda. Night Therapy was created and written by Raanan Caspi, is being directed by Gabriel Bibliowicz, and produced for yes TV by Dafna Danenberg, Aviram Avraham, Benny Menache and Eight Productions. Pre-sale discussions for the series are already taking place, according to yes Studios.

Sharon Levi, managing director of yes Studios, said about Night Therapy: “Its optimism, unique take on life and inherent message about the power of recovery, coupled with sharp writing and compelling characters clearly mark it out as our next global hit series.” She added that Haas is “one of Israel’s brightest international stars, working on a number of huge projects, and currently has the world at her feet. Her commitment to this wonderful series speaks volumes about its potential and is driving a
huge amount of early interest.”

Haas became the first Israeli actress nominated for a Golden Globe in 2021 and she has also been nominated for an Emmy Award, both for her performance in the limited series Unorthodox. She won the award for best female performance in a new scripted series at the Independent Spirit Awards, also for Unorthodox, and won best actress at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival for starring in Asia, in which she played a terminally ill character. She additionally won two best supporting actress awards at the Israeli Academy Awards.