Oct. 7-focused new season of ‘Fauda’ is No. 1 on Netflix in Lebanon

The Israeli action thriller “Fauda” is proving to be a hit across the Middle East, including in multiple Arab countries, some of whose relations with the Jewish state are strained and even hostile.

Days after the show premiered its fifth season on Netflix, focusing on the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, attack, it has received strong viewing figures around the globe, including in the Arab world.

Of particular surprise is the series’ performance in Lebanon, where “Fauda” was Netflix’s number one show at the weekend.

Lebanon was directly affected by Oct. 7, when it was dragged into the war a day after the Hamas attack, as Hezbollah began striking Israel in support of Gaza. The Israel-Hezbollah war led to destruction in large swaths of the country’s south and the displacement of over a million people.

The show was also highly popular in Jordan, where it reached the number two spot on Netflix on Friday, according to tracking site Flixpatrol.

It was also number three in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, number six in Egypt and number eight in Saudi Arabia.

Season five premiered in Israel in May and ran until July, with a total of 11 episodes. Creators Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff rewrote the season in the wake of Oct. 7, and several of its episodes directly deal with the tragedies of that day. Most of the revised run is set two years after October 7, dealing with life after the trauma and shock of the Hamas attack.

Several creatives tied to the show were affected by the war.

A longtime “Fauda” crew member, Matan Meir, was killed by a blast from a booby-trapped tunnel shaft next to a mosque in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, in December 2023. The season’s first episode was dedicated to him.

Actor Idan Amedi, who appeared in seasons two, three and four, and who was slated to appear in the original version of season five, was seriously injured in an explosion while serving in the Combat Engineering Corps reserves in Gaza in January 2024. He has since recovered, but does not appear in season five.

Raz, who is also the lead actor on the show, was abroad on October 7 and flew home on October 8 to join the volunteer forces of Brothers in Arms, which set up a headquarters to help those affected by the war.

Filmed in southern Israel and Budapest, Season 5 also deals with anti-war and anti-Israel sentiment around the world.

Composer Gilad Benamram has said the production staff felt a clear sense that the situation in Israel was seen outside the country “in a twisted way.”

“It’s very frustrating, and that frustration came through in the writing,” he said.