In late 2024, we found out that a new Israeli show was about to land on Netflix. The show, “Bad Boy,” had barely even started airing in Israel when the deal was announced, but the deal is the result of the series being screened at TIFF.
Part of what makes the show so exciting is that it comes from journalist-turned-TV-maker Ron Leshem, the Israeli creator behind “Euphoria.” That’s right, the hit HBO show about troubled teens, whose third season started production this January, is based on an original Israeli series from 2012.
Now, more than a decade later, Leshem once again takes aim at a story of troubled teens, but this time, he ups the ante. “Bad Boy,” which was co-created and directed by filmmaker Hagar Ben-Asher, takes us into the world of Israeli juvenile detention through the eyes of Guy Menaster’s Dean Scheinman, a funny but troubled young man. Menaster’s father, actor Oded Menaster, plays Dean’s father in the show. Dean’s mother is played by actress Neta Plotnik. Havtamo Farda plays Zion Zoro, a fellow young prisoner who Dean befriends through his biting humor, which he uses to charm the other youths in prison.
The show is based on the life story of Daniel Chen, who spent a big chunk of his teenage years in a juvenile penitentiary and turned that experience into fodder for his stand-up career. He is also part of “Bad Boy,” playing the adult Dean on stage, sharing his experiences in Israeli comedy clubs.
The show, which won seven awards at the Israeli Academy for Awards for Television earlier this month, is also inspired by Leshem’s time as a reporter before his illustrious TV career. Leshem, who serves as “Bad Boy”’s showrunner, said that of all the stories he covered, it was a 2000 piece about the fact that many babies born in prison return there as juveniles that stayed with him.
“I felt like these babies were never given a chance,” he told Deadline. “They are born into a fate and not given a chance for an alternative fate. I spent time as a journalist covering wars and battle zones but it was this story that touched me the most.”
“Bad Boy” premieres on Netflix on May 2.
