Israel’s Yes producing thriller series about spy boat that capsized in Italy
8-part Israeli-French-Italian production to delve into speculation and conspiracy theories about incident, in which Mossad agent and two Italian intel operatives were killed
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAmy Spiro is a reporter and writer with The Times of Israel
Israel’s Yes TV network is working on an eight-part dramatic miniseries about the mysterious sinking of a boat in Italy earlier this year with dozens of Israeli and Italian intelligence operatives on board.
On May 28, a boat on Lake Maggiore in Italy capsized during a storm, killing four of the 28 people on board — a Mossad agent, two Italian spies and a Russian woman said to be the wife of the boat’s captain.
The incident has been cloaked in mystery since it unfolded, with survivors quickly whisked away from hospitals and hotel rooms, the Israelis quietly flown back to Tel Aviv on a private plane, and details of the incident scant. After several days of silence, the Israeli government confirmed that a retired Mossad agent, named in Italian media as Erez Shimoni (widely believed to be his cover identity), was among the dead.
News of the upcoming thriller series about the mysterious event was first reported by Variety, which said that the show will be headed by Izhar Harlev, the co-creator of “Mossad 101,” and produced in a collaboration between Israeli, French and Italian production houses.
A spokesman for Yes confirmed the series was in its early writing stages, and said there was not yet any schedule for its release.
“There are way more questions than answers about what really took place on that boat and what happened in the aftermath of its sinking,” Dafna Prenner, one of the Israeli producers on the show, told Variety.
Leo Maidenberg, of France’s Place du Marché Productions, told the entertainment news site that the show is tentatively titled “Maggiore,” after the lake where the boat capsized, and is expected to cast Israeli and European actors and cost approximately $2 million per episode to make.
The boat’s capsizing inspired a wide range of speculation and conspiracy theories, including about the nature of the meeting between the Israeli and Italian spies, the events that led to the deaths of four people on the board, the hasty coverup attempt by Jerusalem and Rome, and even the identities of the captain and his wife.
The Times of Israel Community.