'Fauda' star explains inspiration behind hit show
'Fauda' star and co-creator Lior Raz on what inspired him to create the hit Netflix show.
Rockets launched from Gaza strip into Israel. Secret Hamas tunnels illegally entering the country. A deadly incident between Israeli Special Forces and Palestinian militants.
This has been the reality for Israel the past 18 years, but it is also the outline for the third season of Israeli thriller “Fauda.”
Fox News met with crew members of the hit show in an underground parking lot in Tel Aviv as they wrapped up filming the season. The parking area had been turned into an underground Hamas headquarters.
The show's name, "Fauda," means "chaos" in Arabic, and it is the commandos’ code for when something goes awry. (Benasully Productions)
“Are you ready to enter the most crowded, dangerous and explosive place in the Middle East?” the teaser asked. The short clip showed co-creator Lior Raz’s character, Doron, hopping out of a truck. “Welcome to Gaza,” he is told, before the scene cuts to a dark, underground tunnel.
The show's name, "Fauda," means "chaos" in Arabic, and it is the commandos’ code for when something goes awry.
HOW ISRAELI TV SHOW 'FAUDA' IS BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN ARABS AND JEWS
Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff co-wrote the plot based on their service in the Israel Defense Forces, which is mandatory for all Israeli citizens, and Issacharoff’s experience as a correspondent in the West Bank. It tells the story of Doron, a commander in a Special Forces unit that operates undercover in the West Bank in pursuit of Palestinian assailants and militants.
Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff co-wrote the plot based on their IDF mandatory army service and Issacharoff’s experience as a correspondent in the West Bank. (Benasully Productions)
Both Raz and Issacharoff think the success of their series lies in its authenticity.
“We show the Arab culture, and we approached it with great respect for them, their language and customs. We wrote the Palestinian characters not as just villains – not only as the bad guys, but as complex human beings, who have appealing traits, and are in love, and have families and have dilemmas and struggles just as the Israeli characters,” Raz said.
'FAUDA' STAR EXPLAINS INSPIRATION BEHIND HIT SHOW
Raz said he gets emails from Palestinians and people in Arab countries who tell him "this is the first time... that they feel compassion for the Israeli side.”
Both Issacharof and Raz deflect criticism that they have been using the occupation as entertainment.
Both Issacharof and Raz deflect criticism that they have been using the occupation as entertainment. (Benasully Productions)
“It’s like saying that the ‘Sopranos’ made the mafia business entertainment or ‘Breaking Bad’ did the same for drugs. We came to make art – not politics. And our art talks about what’s going on here. We show the reality as it is, with its complexities. Yes, it might get a lot of attention, and we good great TV, but we’re here to tell the story.”
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Not much was revealed by the writers and actors about the third season, but they did divulge that one of the characters is based on Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, and that he would be darker and more emotional for the viewers.
The third season will air on Netflix early next year.
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