Annual TV award nominees announced after delay caused by death of ‘Tehran’ producer

The Israeli Academy of Film and Television announced the nominees for the 2025 Television Awards on Thursday morning, following a delay caused by the unexpected death of acclaimed producer Dana Eden in Greece earlier in the week.

“Tehran,” one of the award-winning shows in Eden’s creative production partnership with Shula Spiegel, was nominated in seven categories, including Sasson Gabbay for Best Actor.

Eden was in Athens for the filming of the fourth season of “Tehran” when she died.

Two of Eden’s other shows, the youth series “Shakshuka” and “Saving the Wildlife” were also nominated for awards.

The Television Awards ceremony will take place on March 22 at Expo Tel Aviv and will be broadcast live by the Kan public broadcaster.

The awards are presented in two separate events, the main ceremony held on March 22 and a gala ceremony focused on production crafts, which takes place several days earlier.

Kan 11 leads with 108 nominations, followed by Yes with 32, Keshet with 30, HOT with 25, and Reshet 13 with four nominations.

The Academy, a nonprofit organization, reported that membership has increased by 25% since Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar attacked it, announcing last September that he would halt the ministry’s funding for the Ophir Awards after “The Sea,” a film about a Palestinian boy, won the Best Feature award.

Zohar held an alternative film awards ceremony in December, in protest of the prizes handed out at this year’s Ophir ceremony.

The Academy is composed of hundreds of industry professionals from various television and film disciplines, including scriptwriters, actors, and directors, with members voting to determine winners for both the Ophir and TV awards, two ceremonies that are held separately at different times of the year.

The recent crisis with the Culture Ministry led to strong solidarity among TV professionals, stated the Academy, forming a united front committed to safeguarding artistic and creative freedom and to ensuring continued funding for the industry and its institutions.

The final round of voting will take place between March 8 and 11 to determine the winners in 46 categories, following the submission of more than 130 television series and programs for consideration.

The top nominees are Noa Koler’s dark comedy “Happy Place” with 15 nominations, Roy Kafri’s comedy series “Universes” with 13 nominations, murder mystery “Nutuk” with ten, historical drama “Motherland” with nine nominations and the “Hooligans” extreme soccer fan series with eight nominations.

The late Alon Abutbul, who was found dead on a beach in July 2025,  was nominated in the Supporting Actor category for the drama “The German” and “Universes.”

Veteran actor Sasson Gabbay is competing against himself for Best Actor in “Tehran” and “Kugel,” the prequel to the hit show “Shtisel.”

“Sh-t Kid” places actors Efrat Ben-Zur and Liat Harlev head to head for Best Supporting Actress. Four singers have been nominated for acting roles — Avihu Pinhasov for “Happy Place,” Ninet Tayeb for “Fireflies,” Shuli Rand for “The New Black,” and Noa Kirel for her reality show “I Am Noa Kirel.”

“Farewell Tour” featuring Israeli singer-songwriter Korin Allal, who died in December 2024, is up against “Kfar Aza – 95% Garden of Eden” for Best Documentary Series.