Podcast: ‘Fauda’ creators talk about fourth season, as art imitates reality

Welcome to Times Will Tell, the weekly podcast from The Times of Israel.

We’re speaking this week to ‘Fauda’ series creators Avi Issacharoff and Lior Raz, as well as documentary filmmaker Oren Rosenfeld, whose 2018 film ‘The Real Fauda,’ delved into the series’ global popularity.

Issacharoff and Lior Raz spoke to journalists this week just before taking off for Budapest, where the show will shoot part of the fourth season.

Viewers have been waiting since 2020 for the latest installation of this series. While Israelis will be able to watch the fourth season of “Fauda” in Hebrew starting summer 2022, Netflix has yet to announce a date for the US release of the show, which has rocketed Issacharoff and Raz to TV stardom.

The new season follows an Arab citizen of Israel who is suspected of having a terrorist history, and whose sister is an Israeli police officer.

The plot — which spirits viewers to Lebanon, Jenin, Israel, and Belgium — was inspired by a true story that happened in Israel many years ago, said Issacharoff.

The creators said writing began before the last year’s violence.

“We didn’t expect the events of last May, an almost war of two peoples,” said Issacharoff.

Those ethnic tensions are a far cry from the set of “Fauda,” where a mixed cast of Israeli Jews and Arabs have worked closely together for the last seven years.

“We live in a bubble of creativity and love,” said Raz. “We’re dealing with people, not nations. It’s an amazing place to be in the Middle East.”

The pair recently announced a $50 million partnership with former Disney executives, and their production company Faraway Road is working on several films and TV series.

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