I have been impossibly excited about the “Shtisel” prequel/spinoff, “Kugel,” which premiered in Israel on the Yes network this month. It not only centers my favorite fictional Orthodox family and two of my favorite Israeli actors — Hadas Yaron (of Hulu’s “We Were the Lucky Ones”) and Sasson Gabai — but also one of my favorite Jewish staples: the warm noodle casserole that is kugel.
I promised Kveller readers that I would let them know when the show, which unlike the Jerusalem-based “Shtisel” takes place in Antwerp’s Haredi Jewish community, premieres stateside. Well, that day is here: “Kugel” is officially premiering on the Jewish streaming platform IZZY in early 2025.
The official date hasn’t quite been set, but IZZY, which is home to some pretty incredible Israeli shows, like the excellent army comedy “Dismissed,” has shared a wonderful subtitled trailer for the series, which shows just how magical — and both familiar and really different — this show, written by “Shtisel” co-creator Yehonatan Indursky, is.
In the trailer, we see Nuchem (Gabai), a seasoned and unprincipled salesman, try to sell earrings to a character played by legendary actress Rivkah Michaeli, who tells him she isn’t out of mourning yet and can’t buy them.
“I’m not here to sell you earrings,” he says, “I’m here to tell you a story.”
For those who don’t remember, Nuchem is the brother of “Shtisel” patriarch Shulem, who comes back to Israel with his young daughter, Libi, and has quite the contentious relationship with his sibling. “Kugel,” however, takes places in the years before Nuchem and Libi make their way back to Israel, where Libi finally finds love with Kiveh, played by Michael Aloni.
The “Kugel” trailer shows Nuchem’s life before “Shtisel,” in Antwerp as a bit of an outsider. He complains about not getting an invitation to join the local schvitz, or Jewish sauna. We see him having dinner with Libi, telling her, “Your dad isn’t a big shot.” We see Libi’s life, traveling through the city and going on match-made dates. We see her touching her siddur, or prayer book. She flirts with a yeshiva boy on the tram through stolen glances. She talks about a passion for telling stories. She is mad at her parents for divorcing and how it will affect her chances at finding love.
We meet Nuchem’s ex-wife, played by Mili Avital, who divorces him for his swindling ways. And we meet the woman with whom he finds a new passion, Pnina Baumbach, played by Israeli comedian Rotem Abouhab, a widow who inherited a restaurant that serves Jerusalem-style kugel, a peppery rich delicacy. In a “Ratatouille”-like scene, we see him finding magic in making that warm, comforting fare late at night. “Yesterday when I tasted the kugel, I felt like I had someone I could count on,” Pnina tells Nuchem.
The glimpse of this show has most certainly whet my appetite to watch “Kugel” and find out how Nuchem deals with his newfound culinary skills, if he manages to grasp this second chance at love, and to see the incredible Hadas Yaron as Libi balance her passion for writing with her own romantic life in the Belgian city. Luckily, the wait won’t be too much longer.
