This post originally ran on our Substack, Jewish TV Club.
We love Netflix hits “Fauda” and “Beauty Queen of Jerusalem,” but today I want to celebrate some Jewish and Jew-ish Netflix shows that offer surprising representation and that may have slipped under your radar. Here are seven Jewish Netflix shows you might not have heard of but should definitely be watching:
Earlier this year, this show, Netflix’s first original production in Hebrew, premiered on the platform to absolutely zero fanfare. I’m not sure if it’s because of the current political climate, or simply because Netflix doesn’t seem to do much to hype its international offerings stateside, but whatever it was, it’s quite likely you’ve not heard of the show, which was #1 on Netflix Israel for quite a while — and which is not to be confused with the delightful Billy Eichner rom-com.
Created by the stars and writers of the Israeli blockbuster “Maktub” (also streaming on Netflix!), Guy Amir and Hanan Savyon, the show takes a lot of inspiration from the Jerusalem-based duo. It’s about two best friends, Pini and Nisso, who co-own a bar in the holy city (Amir and Savyon also co-owned such an establishment for a decade). They are, like the show’s creators, fans of Beitar Jerusalem (a soccer team known for its racist fan club, though the show largely skims over that). And they are, ostensibly unlike the show’s creators, struggling to get their professional and personal lives together. In an attempt to fix their friendship, they take a trip to Poland to watch a Beitar game, but the adventure ends up being way more than they bargained for. It’s a coming-of-age tale of two pretty irresponsible and immature men, but somehow, it still manages to be pretty charming.
This high school thriller starring Israeli comedian and surprisingly great dramatic actor Guri Alfi as a rogue police detective was just renewed for a second season in Israel. It is about an Israeli school shooting — not a very common occurrence in the country, and yet a potent premise. I would describe it as “Euphoria” meets “Broadchurch,” and you can do with that what you will!
Jordi Frades, executive producer of “Heirs to the Land,” said the show wants do for the Spanish Inquisition what “Schindler’s List” has done for the Holocaust. It’s an admirable feat, and this 14th-century period show definitely has dense Jewish representation.
“You have multiple references to the Inquisition and to antisemitism in recent historical production, but I wanted to go beyond and show the texture of life for a Jew in Spain just before the expulsion,” Frades said of the show, which is based on a novel by Ildefonso Falcones and tells the life story of Hugo Llor, the illiterate son of a cleaning lady who finds refuge at the home of a Sephardic Jewish family that teaches him how to make wine. It shows Jews who willingly convert to avoid persecution, and others who choose death over loss of their faith.
Have you also revisited “Girls” lately? Well, this show is kind of the Mexican version of that show, if it went on a road trip and got a bit too wild. Not only that, but Jewish creator Diego Martínez Ulanosky took inspiration from both his Jewish Mexican upbringing and Lena Dunham herself when he created Lucía Uribe’s Carlota, a Jewish feminist blogger who is just as chaotic as Hannah Horvath.
OK, this Mexican show isn’t very Jewish, but it does have a surprisingly charming Jewish side character that I’m super obsessed with — Dr. Salomon Cohen, portrayed by David Ostrosky. The show features a lot of Jewish moments, and even has a bar mitzvah episode!
Back in 2020, I called ”Hashoter Hatov” the perfect pandemic binge. The show’s title is Hebrew for “The Good Cop,” which is also the title of the short-lived American adaptation of the show starring Josh Groban and Tony Danza, which you can still watch on Netflix. I still love the refreshing way this show takes on toxic masculinity, and find it just as delightful. To crib from my past self: “‘Hashoter Hatov’ was originally conceived as a ‘Reno 911’-inspired show, but it turned out to be its own creature, one that is a mix of moving and funny, that brings a heartfelt vulnerability to a profession normally thought of as macho. The show was conceived by Erez Aviram, a former journalist and veteran writer for ‘Eretz Nehederet’ (Israel’s ‘Saturday Night Live’ equivalent) who has years of an almost anthropological knowledge of the comedic fabric of Israeli society. That in turn makes the show deeply and accurately Israeli.”
I will never not be telling you to watch the Turkish period show “The Club” aka “Kulüp.” Yes, these are drought times for Jewish and Turkish relations, but this period melodrama is a testament to how beautiful they can be, and is truly a moving ode to the Sephardic Jewish traditions in the country, and the music, food and customs of Turkish Jews.
This post originally ran on our Substack, Jewish TV Club. Subscribe now for more Jewish TV content — like throwback recaps of Jewish episodes of “Frasier” — and discussions with other TV lovers.
