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Monday, September 14, 2026
Fauda co-creator as Oct. 7 episodes gain traction across Middle East: ‘Most important thing I’ve done in my career’
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One of the co-creators of Fauda says the most recent season dealing with October 7 is the most important thing he has done in his career, as the show seemingly gains traction in countries across the Middle East.
“We hoped the season would succeed, but there was also a sense of skepticism given October 7 and the fact that global public opinion is anti-Israel — which is the understatement of the year,” Avi Issacharoff tells the Kan public broadcaster. “And then you find yourself surprised, thinking: ‘Wait, what? Number one in Lebanon?'”
Issacharoff and Lior Raz rewrote the season in the wake of October 7, and two of its episodes directly deal with the tragedies and horror of that day, with the remainder of episodes dealing with the aftermath and impact.
Days after the show premiered its fifth season on Netflix, it has received strong viewing figures around the globe, including in the Arab world, according to tracking site Flixpatrol.
Additionally, some social media users have posted in recent days that the series has shown them for the first time what happened in Israel on October, 7, 2023.
“We didn’t set out to serve as a diplomacy tool for the State of Israel. We came as Israelis to tell a story that burned inside us. We realized we couldn’t rely on government bodies — which had failed to function on October 7 and 8 — because they simply aren’t functioning now either. It doesn’t interest them,” says Issacharoff, formerly the Times of Israel’s Middle East analyst.
“Our enemy is playing against an open goal when it comes to public diplomacy,” says Issacharoff.
He tells Kan that: “In my 26 years as a journalist and screenwriter, this is undoubtedly the most important thing I’ve ever done. I realized that if someone on the other side of the world sees this, it will move them.”
The Times of Israel Community.