Avi Issacharoff on how ‘Fauda’ grapples with October 7
NFLX•“Fauda” co-creator Avi Issacharoff says the latest season, centered on the October 7, 2023 attacks and their aftermath, is the show’s most personal yet. He says Netflix decided when to air it, following an agreement with Israeli broadcaster Yes.
1. A personal season
Issacharoff said the latest season of “Fauda” is its most personal, following the October 7 attacks and the Israeli assault on Gaza. A crew member was killed while serving in the Israeli military in Gaza, and another was injured. Issacharoff described October 7 as an “open wound” for many Israelis.
2. Audience and purpose
The season has drawn viewership in the Arab world, which Issacharoff said the creators did not expect. He said the show is not part of an Israeli government effort and that the team wanted to tell a story about the trauma Israelis experienced. He said the season focuses on European characters recruited by Hamas, as well as people with varied backgrounds.
3. Why Gaza is absent
The creators wrote and filmed the season while the war was ongoing, Issacharoff said, and did not know how Gaza would look when it ended. He said they focused instead on Europe, Syria and the West Bank, citing both uncertainty about the war’s outcome and the difficulty of recreating Gaza for production. He said Netflix chose the season’s release timing following an agreement with Israeli broadcaster Yes.
