TV Review: Fauda (2015)

Fauda (2015) created by Avi Issacharoff and Lior Raz

Former Israeli intelligence agent Doron is living the quiet life of a winemaker eighteen months after he took down The Panther, an infamous Palestinian terrorist. Turns out The Panther may not be dead after all. Since the Panther's younger brother is getting married, it's probably a prime opportunity to finish the job. Doron goes back to his agency and his team plans to infiltrate the wedding. Too bad the show is called "Fauda" which is Arabic for "chaos." Things don't go well at the wedding for anyone, launching a series of incidents that spiral further and further out of control. The Panther is alive and planning a new strike on Israel--can Doron's team keep it together long enough to get the job done?

The show does favor the Israeli side of the picture but is surprisingly even-handed. Both sides do some pretty horrible things in the course of the show and it's clear the situation is a lot more complicated than you'd ever guess from a Western media perspective. The parallels between Israeli activity and Palestinian activity are fascinating. The characters are well-written and acted. Even without agreeing about what they do, they are still sympathetic and intriguing. For a show that at first glance seems like a 24 clone, it has a lot more depth to go along with the action and political intrigue.

The big problem with the show is how many loose ends are left unresolved at the end of the final episode. Clearly they want to do another season and the production company has given the go-ahead as of Summer 2016 (at least according to Wikipedia). Currently (March 2017) the show is only available in America via Netflix streaming with no sign of the next season coming yet. It's worth watching.