Israeli Drama ‘East Side’ Takes Leaf Out Of ‘The Sopranos’ Book by Placing Family Front And Centre

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Welcome to Global Breakouts, Deadline’s fortnightly strand in which we shine a spotlight on the TV shows and films killing it in their local territories.

The industry is as globalized as it’s ever been, but breakout hits are appearing in pockets of the world all the time and it can be hard to keep track… So we’re going to do the hard work for you. This week we feature East Side, an Israeli drama that puts family at the center of the action Sopranos style, in East Jerusalem’s politically-charged Old City. The show has been a critical and ratings hit for public broadcaster Kan 11 and is also available locally on Netflix Israel through a deal struck in February. Marking a new direction for internationally-popular Israeli drama, it follows a father and fixer who brokers shady property deals between the Arab residents of East Jerusalem and powerful Jewish groups who want to take control of the area. Name: East SideCountry: IsraelNetwork: Kan 11, Netflix IsraelProducer: Abot HameiriFor fans of: The Sopranos, Shtisel, The Beauty Queen of JerusalemDistributor: Fremantle To outsiders looking in, it might seem any TV show or film set in East Jerusalem would be inherently political.

The area, just 7.5 square kilometers in size, is a microcosm of the Israel-Palestine conflict — internationally recognized by UNESCO as part of occupied Palestine, with a larger population of Palestinian Arabs than Jewish settlers and an increasing number of Israeli settlements considered illegal under international law (though Israel disputes this).

The ‘Holy Basin,’ as it’s known, is a spiritual focal point for Jews, Muslims and Christians, so to make a series there based on actual events and not get swallowed up by the volatile politics is quite