JTA: The Global News Service of the Jewish People

The Israeli television invasion

By Ami Eden · March 13, 2008

The Forward's Rebecca Spence writes about Hollywood's growing interest in Israeli television shows:

As Hollywood executives roll out the red carpet for television shows imported from overseas, Israel is emerging as an unlikely new starlet.

In the wake of this season's new HBO drama, "In Treatment" — the Israeli television hit remade for an American audience — a spate of fresh shows from the Jewish state is now making its way across the Atlantic.

"There is a land rush on Israeli properties right now," said independent producer David Himmelfarb, who has an exclusive deal with ABC Studios, the television production arm of The Walt Disney Company. "It's almost like a farm team for Hollywood, is what it's becoming," he said, referring to the Israeli television industry.