Netflix Acquires Rights to Israeli Border Police Series Starring Singer Shlomi Shabat
by Shiryn Ghermezian
Small toy figures are seen in front of displayed Netflix logo in this illustration taken March 19, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration.
Netflix has acquired the broadcast rights to an eight-episode Israeli series focused on the country’s Border Police starring Israeli singer Shlomi Shabat and comedian and actor Shalom Michaelshvili.
The show’s title in Hebrew is Mishmar Hagvul, which translates in English to “Border Guard” or “Border Patrol.” The series was created by Meni Yaish and will air around the world on Netflix later this year. Germany’s largest television channel, ZDF, has also purchased rights for show, and it will premiere with German subtitles on its streaming platform ZDFneo, according to Israeli media reports.
The show centers on Avi — played by actor Ben Sultan — who is a boy from Bat Yam that gets involved with Arabs from Jaffa and must then join the Israeli Border Police to settle a debt with them. He soon afterward becomes a respected policeman and eventually falls in love with a feminist Border Police officer. However, Avi’s past keeps interfering with his present life.
Mishmar Hagvul premiered Tuesday on the Israeli television network HOT.
