NYT names ‘The Lesson’ and ‘Unsilenced’ among top Israeli series of 2024

The critics wrote: “From the tension and disputation of life in Israel emerges, perhaps not surprisingly, really good TV."

By HANNAH BROWN DECEMBER 8, 2024 16:03

Maya Landsman (left) and Doron Ben-David in a scene from The Lesson. (photo credit: Boaz Yehonatan Yaakov/courtesy of Kan)

The New York Times named two Israeli series among its top television shows of 2024: The Lesson and Unsilenced.

The Lesson, a series from KAN that won awards for Best Series and Best Actress for Maya Landsman at the Cannes International Series Festival (CannesSeries) in 2022, was named by the NYT critics as one of the ten best series of the year.

It is available in the US on Chaiflicks and tells the story of a classroom argument between a teacher, played by Doron Ben-David of Fauda, and a student (Landsman) that is exacerbated by social media and turns into a huge conflict with devastating consequences. The series can be seen in Israel on the KAN's website at kan.org.il.

The critics wrote: “From the tension and disputation of life in Israel emerges, perhaps not surprisingly, really good TV. (How that will be affected by the particularly horrific events of the last year is an open question.)

Doron Ben-David, 2023. (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Winner of the best-series award at the Cannes TV Festival in 2022, this smart drama tracks the spiraling, destructive consequences of a classroom confrontation between a liberal teacher and an angry, strident student, showing how the personal and the political are fused at every step.”

‘Unsilenced’ earns acclaim and awards

A second Israeli series, Unsilenced, also streaming on Chaiflicks in the US, was listed as one of “10 more equally deserving series.” Unsilenced, from Yes Studios, is based on the story of the rape conviction of former president Moshe Katsav and is told from the points of view of an assistant whom he assaults and who is eventually able to bring him to justice, as well as others involved in the case.

The series won several awards from the Israeli Television Academy, including Best Drama Series, Best Actor (Yaakov Zada-Daniel, another Fauda star), and Best Actress (Nelly Mira-Rubin).

In 2019, the New York Times named the Israeli series Prisoners of War as the top international series of the decade. Prisoners of War was adapted in the US as Homeland.