With day-to-day reality serving us a good share of drama, relief can come from unexpected avenues. In steps Jewish streaming platform ChaiFlicks, which has become the best place for English speakers to watch the best Jewish entertainment and Israeli TV shows from around the world.
To kick off the year, ChaiFlicks has curated an impressive lineup of new shows from Israel and beyond, all with English subtitles.
Highlights include the latest season of Israel’s most popular comedy Kupa Rashit, titled Checkout in English, a second season of star-studded kitchen drama The Chef, A Curb Your Enthusiasm- style British sitcom in Hapless, new releases from the creators behind Fauda and The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem, and more.
ChaiFlicks is currently available for audiences in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, and coming to more markets this year.
The Chef: Tel Aviv Kitchen Drama Turns On The Heat
Tel Aviv’s restaurants are well-known for their world class cuisine. But it’s what happens behind the counter that’s at the heart of hit drama The Chef.
The show features all the addictive ingredients Israelis obsess over: celebrity chefs, sharp business dealings, and the allure of Tel Aviv’s tech scene juxtaposed with its electrifying nightlife.
In the first season, Nimrod (comedian Guri Alfi), a former tech worker weary of startup life, is initiated into Tel Aviv’s cutthroat restaurant world by Dori (Gal Toran, Losing Alice), a celebrity chef who is as talented as he is relentless. Sparks fly when savvy businesswoman Osnat, portrayed by Israeli A-lister Rotem Sela (The Beauty & The Baker), opens a buzzy new restaurant to challenge Dori and his team.
American outlet Kveller quipped, “If ‘The Bear’ is a type of quirky-poignant-funny show, then ‘The Chef’ is its dark and raunchy Israeli cousin.” With meticulous attention to production detail, The Chef is both fun and a feast for the eyes.
Agent 566: Eli Cohen, the Man Behind the Myth
The story of Israeli spy Eli Cohen is legendary and recounted in many forms, including Netflix drama The Spy starring Sacha Baron Cohen.
During the early 1960s, Eli Cohen infiltrated the highest circle of Syria’s business and security elite, providing invaluable intelligence to Israeli forces. Tragically captured and publicly executed in 1965, he remains one of Israel’s most recognized and heroic figures.
But if you think you know the story, think again. The new documentary series Agent 566 offers a fresh perspective by going straight to the historical source, including, for the first time, interviews with Cohen’s family and children.
The resulting portrait is far more complex than the one immortalized in popular culture. Yes, Cohen was a dedicated father, a staunch Zionist, and a hero who made the ultimate sacrifice. But how did he end up behind enemy lines? Could his capture have been avoided? And what was the toll on the family he left behind?
Called “one of the best docuseries in recent years” by Haaretz, Agent 566 pairs rare archival footage and interviews with immersive animation sequences to tell Eli Cohen’s story in a way no memorial or dramatization has before.
Agent 566 is now streaming exclusively on ChaiFlicks.
Hapless: Curb Gets the British Treatment
British sitcom Hapless follows neurotic journalist Paul Green (Tim Downie, The King’s Speech) and his efforts to write exciting articles for the UK’s “fourth largest Jewish newspaper”. Much like Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm, Paul often finds himself in awkward situations, mostly of his own making, thanks to his tendency to relate to others without a filter.
Critics worldwide have praised Hapless, calling it a “hilarious British comedy meant to test boundaries” (Fandomwire) that “feels fresh and funny and vital” (The Forward), and quite aptly, “The U.K.’s response to Curb Your Enthusiasm” (The Hollywood Reporter). Penned by Gary Sinyor and starring Downie, Hapless is a strong contender for the shiniest hidden gem in the streaming world.
Checkout (Kupa Rashit): Your Israeli Cousin’s Favorite Comedy Returns
If you’ve followed Israeli television over the last decade, you’ve likely heard of this one.
Checkout (Kupa Rashit in Hebrew) is one of Israel’s most successful shows, now heading into its fifth season on Kan 11. Imagine The Office set in an Israeli supermarket, and you get a sense of the chaotic hilarity.
The show follows a cast of eccentric supermarket employees and the colorful set of regular customers who frequent their barely-functioning store. Over the seasons, this setting has become a humorous and insightful microcosm of Israeli society.
From the madness of last-minute Shabbat shopping to unruly queuing habits and intrusions into personal space, Checkout portrays Israel at its most heartfelt, even if it’s not always politically correct.
The Malevolent Bride: Mysticism and Malice in the Heart of Jerusalem
Following their respective hits, Fauda director Noah Stollman and The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem director Oded Davidoff have teamed up for something entirely different.
From dybbuks to Kaballah, The Malevolent Bride is a rare Israeli foray into the dark crime genre mixing Jewish mysticism with whodunit mystery. Set in Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox community, the series follows secular physicist Be’er and religious psychologist Malki Price as they investigate a rash of inexplicable, violent crimes in the Mea Shearim neighborhood.
Genre enthusiasts should prepare for a Tarantino-esque thriller that intelligently weaves in Jewish folklore, resulting in a bloody good time.
The Malevolent Bride is now streaming exclusively on ChaiFlicks.