Newsweek’s reporting (h/t Noah Pollak)
Borrowing television formats isn’t new; some of our most successful franchises—”American Idol,” “Survivor,” “The Office,” to name three—started in Europe. But with two shows hitting TV this year and another two in development, it’s Israel that is fast becoming Hollywood’s cheat sheet. “B’Tipul,” a drama about a therapist and his demanding clientele, was adapted into HBO’s critically acclaimed series “In Treatment.” Premiering this fall on CBS is “The Ex List,” which was adapted from the Israeli series “Mythological X.” “List” is a romantic comedy about a woman who learns from a psychic that she has already dated—and broken up with—her soulmate, and if she can’t narrow him down from her lengthy roster of suitors, she’ll spend life as a spinster. It’s no wonder Israel is such a close friend of the United States. To judge from their television shows, the Israelis are just as neurotic as we are.
And what about “All in the Family?” It’s interesting that Israeli television has progressed to the point where American television seeks to emulate it.
Daled Amos points out that there are another couple of concepts in the pipeline too. (Also from the Newsweek article.)
Also forthcoming are adaptations of “Merhak Negia” (“A Touch Away”), a story of forbidden love between an Orthodox Jewish woman and a Russian immigrant, and “Loaded,” an “Entourage”-like comedy about a quartet of dotcom millionaires. And as long as Israeli television shows combine high quality with low price tags, it doesn’t take a psychic to predict that more television executives will be making pilgrimages to the Holy Land.
Interesting about those dotcom millionaires. I guess that show doesn’t have as much to do with neurosis as American admiration for Israeli tech know-how.
Anthony, the managing partner of New York-based venture-capital fund 21 Ventures, told a Montreal audience that Israel is “the single best place in the world to invest in technology ventures.â€
Anthony was the guest speaker at the inaugural Albert Einstein Business Forum, co-sponsored by the Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Government of Israel’s Economic Mission to Canada. The guests came largely from Montreal’s financial and investment sector.
He founded 21 Ventures four years ago when even high risk-tolerant investors were shying away from Israel after the tech bubble burst and the intifadah was still being waged.
He has investments now in 20 seed and early-stage technology companies in Israel and the United States, mainly in the physical security, clean energy and mobile software fields, and is actively seeking more.
(h/t NY Nana at LGF links)
Crossposted at Soccer Dad.
