One misfit, one football mob, one final shot at belonging
Why Are European Networks Rushing to Buy This New Israeli Series?
A breakthrough for the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation’s new thriller series: it has been sold for broadcast on France’s CANAL+ and Germany’s SWR/ARD channel even before its first episode airs.
The series, starring Ben Sultan, Sean Softy, Dekla, Daniel Manohin, David Shaul, Asaf Harel, Ilay Elmakias, Nehorai Kalifa, Avraham Shalom Levi, Shimon Mimran, and other actors, will premiere on Kan 11 starting June 9, 2025.
The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation has scored another international achievement with the sale of its new series to overseas markets. Following the success of Tehran, Manayek, Unknowns, Hour of Closing, Rehearsals, Six Zeros, and other hit series, the social thriller drama Hooligans will also air on leading platforms CANAL+ in France and ARD/SWR in Germany.
The series, produced by Artza Productions and United King Films, will be titled Hooligans in English and focuses on the clash between an extreme fan organization of a Jerusalem football club and rival extremist groups.
At the heart of the story is Manny Azoulay (Ben Sultan), who arrives at Teddy Stadium every Saturday with a supermarket cart. Not for the game itself, Manny isn’t even a football fan. He's a lone wolf with an explosive temperament and he struggles to fit into frameworks or connect with others.
Though the game doesn’t interest him, when he saves a man who turns out to be the leader of the club’s radical fan organization, the police force him to become an undercover agent against his will. To his surprise, it’s under these circumstances that he discovers his place and the sense of belonging he’s long lacked, within the turbulent and nationalistic world of the fan organization.
Hooligans will air on Mondays starting June 9, immediately following the news broadcast on Kan 11, and later this year, it will be broadcast in Europe after concluding its run in Israel.
Series creator, director, and screenwriter Lee Gilat said: “Hooligans was written with the blood of our hearts. We are very proud of it and thrilled for the opportunity to tell a complex Israeli story that will resonate in other countries as well.”
Creators: Lee Gilat, Yuval Bronshtein, Yizhar Harlev, Esther Namdar-Tamam | Screenplay: Lee Gilat, Yizhar Harlev | Direction: Lee Gilat | Production: Artza Productions, United King Films
Lee Gilat is also the creator, director, and screenwriter of the film Hakafot and the upcoming film Girls Like Us, set to hit theaters soon.
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