Tuesday 23 February 2010

WERNHAM HOGG OPENS A SUBSIDIARY NEAR TEL AVIV

[18.06 - French Time] Israel will have its own adaptation of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's The Office this spring.

Israeli actor Dvir Benedek (A matter of Size) will play Avi Meshulam, the local counterpart of David Brent (Ricky Gervais) or Michael Scott (Steve Carell in the NBC version) in Super Office, a 15 X 25 minute series (1).

This adaptation of the BBC show - set in Yahud, near Tel Aviv - will be directed by Eitan Tzur and written by Uzi Weill, director of the hit series Be Tipul (In Therapy, 2005 and 2008) (2).

If TV formats from Israel raise a lot of interest on international markets, the country's television shows are virtually unknown. In France, Franco-German channel Arte aired some years ago an excellent but short-lived Israeli sitcom called Sh'henim (Neighbours, 1989), with Gadi Yagil, Ofra Weingarten and Bassam Zo'amat. Sh'henim was about Jewish and Arab neighbours co-existing in an apartment building.

http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2010/02/21/10554/israeli_branch_of_the_office_opens

(1) http://www.shalomlife.com/eng/6388/
(2) Remade in the US by HBO as In Treatment.

No comments: