Creating 'Fauda'

> Raz and Issacharoff, Jerusalemites whose families both originally came from Arab countries, have been friends since they were 16 and were both in the elite unite, called the Duvdevan, which is featured in the series.

> They had joined the reserves of the unit, working in the West Bank, when they came up with the idea of Fauda. By then Issacharoff was already a top journalist and Raz a jobbing actor. “Avi asked me if I had a dream and I told him I wanted to write something about the people we were then with, about the mental price they were all paying, the price everybody surrounding them was paying,” says Raz. “We both wanted to talk about the Palestinian side too because knowing who they are is just as important.”

> Finding someone willing to make the show was a struggle. Israelis live with the conflict; when they watch the television they prefer light entertainment. Raz and Issacharoff got a lot of no’s.

> “We managed to find someone to help us pitch to the production company Yes,” recalls Issacharoff. “There was one guy and three women in the room. He was enthusiastic, the women seemed less so. They said, ‘This show won’t be watched by women.’ But they still took it on, it became the success it became, and when they did research into the viewers, they found more women were watching the show than men.

> “We don’t know the exact reasons for the success but I think a big part of it is the authenticity. We took stories from real life, from our lives, and we put them in the story. Every episode of Fauda, every character, you will find something that is real. And sometimes we almost predict things; in our third season we wrote about our team being exposed while they were working in the Gaza Strip. As we were writing it, there was a real team of undercover soldiers that were exposed – so we were having this strange dialogue with reality.

Future of 'Fauda'

> Because the show has become such an international success – with India making the first local version – Raz and Issacharoff have a very international outlook. Their company, Faraway Road Productions, is planning to team up with creatives from across Arab nations to create more work that crosses borders...

> There are also plans for a show set in London and, of course, more Fauda. “We are talking very seriously about making a Fauda movie and we are very open to more seasons,” says Raz. “This has all been a brilliant adventure and we are not sure when it will end.”

> 'Accused' premiered to 8.71 million viewers and a 2.08 rating among adults 18-49 following Fox’s telecast of the NFC divisional playoff game between the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys. Both figures are the best same-day Nielsen ratings for a series premiere this season, topping Night Court’s 7.55 million viewers and 0.98 18-49 rating earlier in the week on NBC.

> 'Accused' also had a huge lead-in: The 49ers-Cowboys game averaged 45.65 million viewers for Fox, and almost 24 million of those people stuck around for the 11-minute postgame show. The drama moves into its regular home Tuesday following the season premiere of 911: Lone Star. Two other Fox shows, Monarch and Alert: Missing Persons Unit, also debuted following (regular season) NFL games this year and lost more than half of their post-football audiences in their next outing.

And we see Hurley in the background waving his hands & exclaiming "Dude!"

'Lost': While the showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse said in various interviews they are not against the idea of reviving/rebooting 'Lost', they stressed that they will not part of any reboot. The show ended in 2010 & we haven't seen any actual plans to revive the show.

But since this Hollywood where they never say never, Disney might greenlit a Lost TV movie or a limited series to commemorate the popular show's 20th anniversary in 2024.

To be honest, I won't mind a Lost TV movie a la 'El Camino', 'Deadwood: The Movie' or 'The Day of the Doctor'.

Netflix's Guide on How to Lose Friends Subscribers & Alienate People!

> Stephen Colbert, a noted fantasy fan, has come on board to help develop and produce a series adaptation of Roger Zelazny’s The Chronicles of Amber.

> Colbert, via his Spartina banner, will produce the adaptation alongside Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment.

> 'The Chronicles of Amber' features two series of five books each – The Corwin Cycle and The Merlin Cycle – with a number of short stories and prequels also in the series.

> It follows the story of Corwin, who awakens on Earth with no memory, but soon finds he is a prince of a royal family that has the ability to travel through different dimensions of reality, called shadows, and rules over the one true world, Amber.

Sounds great, hopefully one day we will get 'Lord of Light' TV series as well.

Business Insider published an article about Netflix's renewal process:

> The company also factors in how many viewers might tune in and how the title will perform across other regions of the world — the latter being a crucial component, given Netflix's international ambitions.

> That can be particularly useful when assessing whether to acquire certain IP, said a third former Netflix exec.

> The question of whether to renew a series for an additional season is where discussions can get "contentious," said the third insider.

> Hits like "Bridgerton" or "The Witcher" are no-brainers. But "any other show on the service is a fight," this person said, adding that even shows that repeatedly hit Netflix's Top 10 list may not garner the viewing hours or completion rates considered high enough for the CS&A researchers to offer a recommendation to renew. This can sometimes spur a difference of opinion between show execs and data analysts, particularly on shows that have smaller audiences but speak to underrepresented audiences, this person said.

> At Netflix, said the exec, "the bar is so, so high."

> While the U.S. national men’s team and Major League Soccer have struggled to gain a regular foothold on domestic television, their English and European counterparts have managed to carve out powerful niches here in the States in the meantime. As new streaming platforms Peacock and Paramount+ bolster their platforms with exclusive league rights, U.S. billionaires buy legacy clubs outright, Americans have become more (literally) invested in international men’s football as both an irresistible narrative and an incredible business opportunity. (Congratulations to Michael B. Jordan, the newest minority owner of A.F.C. Bournemouth!) Meanwhile, shows like Apple TV+’s Emmy smash “Ted Lasso” is all about American football coaches taking on the Premier League, while FX’s “Welcome to Wrexham” documents how Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney buy a small Welsh team. Documentarians have turned to soccer to tell stories like Netflix’s “FIFA Uncovered,” Amazon Prime Video’s “All or Nothing,” Disney+’s “Save Our Squad,” Apple TV+’s “Super League: The War For Football,” and so on (and on, and on…).

> For fans both new and old, the wave is overwhelming. And from a TV criticism perspective, I’ve been floored by not just the sheer volume of football #content flooding my small screen, but the quality of the stories unfolding along with it.

> “It’s genuinely remarkable how much coverage there is,” says Roger Bennett, co-host of NBC’s “Men in Blazers” show that breaks down all things football in podcasts, interviews, and even sold-out shows across the country during the World Cup. “You have the Premier League, Champions League, and La Liga. You have the NWSL and Women’s Super League, even the Colombian and Uruguayan leagues!”

> It also seems relevant that in 2020, as the pandemic forced restless people like me to find entertainment within the confines of their own home, English and European football largely resumed regular play by June. And with every single Premier League and Champions League match now available for US viewers on Peacock and Paramount+, respectively, the beautiful game is more accessible for Americans than ever before.