Fiction meets reality

3rd season of ‘Tehran,’ featuring Hugh Laurie, returns to Kan

New season of Israeli thriller airs in December, after delays prompted by the ongoing multifront war, which has featured an unprecedented, real-life Israel-Iran confrontation

Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center

  • Stars Niv Sultan, left, and Hugh Laurie are seen in a poster for the third season of 'Tehran' by the Kan public broadcaster and Apple TV, airing December 9, 2024. (Courtesy: Kan)
    Stars Niv Sultan, left, and Hugh Laurie are seen in a poster for the third season of 'Tehran' by the Kan public broadcaster and Apple TV, airing December 9, 2024. (Courtesy: Kan)
  • Veteran actor Sasson Gabbay stars in the third season of 'Tehran' by the Kan public broadcaster and Apple TV, airing December 9, 2024. (Courtesy: Kan)
    Veteran actor Sasson Gabbay stars in the third season of 'Tehran' by the Kan public broadcaster and Apple TV, airing December 9, 2024. (Courtesy: Kan)
  • Niv Sultan stars as Mossad agent Tamar Rabinyan in 'Tehran' by the Kan public broadcaster and Apple TV, whose third season airs December 9, 2024. (Courtesy: Kan)
    Niv Sultan stars as Mossad agent Tamar Rabinyan in 'Tehran' by the Kan public broadcaster and Apple TV, whose third season airs December 9, 2024. (Courtesy: Kan)
  • Hugh Laurie joins the third season of 'Tehran,' coming to Apple TV and Kan 11 on December 9, 2024. (Courtesy: Kan)
    Hugh Laurie joins the third season of 'Tehran,' coming to Apple TV and Kan 11 on December 9, 2024. (Courtesy: Kan)

British actor Hugh Laurie joins the third season of “Tehran,” which will return on December 9 to Israel’s Kan public broadcaster.

The series will first be broadcast on Israel’s Kan 11 and later on Apple TV+.

The release of the latest season of the award-winning series was delayed in May due to the ongoing multifront war against Iran’s multiple regional terror proxies in Gaza, Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East.

Direct tensions between Israel and Iran have seen an unprecedented escalation, with Iran firing 300 missiles and drones at Israel on April 13 and again attacking on October 1, firing some 200 missiles, with most projectiles intercepted during both attacks and with Israel retaliating for both with airstrikes on Iran.

Additionally, the Islamic Republic has accused Israel of being behind the assassination in July of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

The show’s creators, Moshe Zonder, Dana Eden and Maor Cohen, say the third season will continue to deal with the core, general issues of the Israeli-Iranian conflict and the personal conflicts of protagonist Tamar Rabinyan.

At the end of the second and latest season, Rabinyan, a young Israeli agent sent to the Iranian capital by the Mossad to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, finds herself alone in the heart of Tehran, pursued simultaneously by the Mossad and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

The young heroine must find a new way to regain Mossad’s support to survive.

This season, Hugh Laurie will play Eric Peterson, a nuclear supervisor.

Rabinyan, played by Niv Sultan, will be joined by veteran actor Sasson Gabbay as Nissan, a veteran Israeli agent who has seen and done everything in his 40 years at the Mossad.

They are joined by Phoenix Raei, an Australian actor of Iranian descent, who portrays Ramin Gamsy, a young, charismatic businessman who uses his business as a cover for daring operations.

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