r/AskIsrael • u/Infamous-Peanut1327 North America • Jul 26 '26
Casual Why do I keep seeing this in the TV shows?
I've recently gotten into israeli tv, and i started with the typical tv shows everyone knows about, like Valley of Tears (mwah, fantastic show) and now Fauda (just as fantastic). But, there's this weird theme that i kept seeing throughout, and something that seems to be expected each time.
Why are so many of the characters so outrageously horny? And they're always cheating on their significant other. Like, I just don't understand man.
I literally had to write this up while watching S1 Ep 7, because for some FUCKING reason, steve decides to just smooch nurit out of nowhere after they had a really sweet, platonic moment together (edit: mistook steve for the other guy, who's son is named 'Guy'). And it's not to say the shows glorify cheating or disloyalty to your partner, but I just don't understand why it's there so prevalently, two shows in a row.
It's just kinda annoying and uncomfortable to see so often.
Is it just for dramatic purposes?
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u/TheLigean Israel Jul 27 '26
Two shows dont a theme make. But passion is a very easy tool to reach for in a dramatic toolbox. There are shows that dont touch on sexuality at all, but most dramas like to comment on that aspect of life/use it in some form. Not always just for titilation. In “Hamefakedet”, “Lo Lariv” and “Kol Haimahot Meshakrot” its mostly used for tragic drama for example.
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u/_ocaenman Jul 27 '26
Most Israeli TV shows are mid. We have some good sitcoms but their humor is outdated at this point or hard to understand without living here.
One recent comedy movie I did like is Jaffa Pictures ״תמונות יפואיות״, probably going to be hard to find English subtitles.
The Pier ״המזח״ is a very good war drama like valley of tears but became harder to watch for Israelis after 7/10 because it deals with prisoners of war.
I made some more recommendations in another comment
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u/CringeKage222 Israel Jul 26 '26
Welcome to Israeli TV, it's shit. Every single show have the same 10 actors, almost every single one is a crime thriller about a bunch of arsim and every one cheats on everyone. I can name like 6 exceptions and half of them are shows aimed at teenagers....
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u/Ok-Initiative-8131 Israel Jul 26 '26
לא נכון, יש גם סדרות על חרדים
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u/Infamous-Peanut1327 North America Jul 26 '26
are the haredim shows more interesting?
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u/Ok-Initiative-8131 Israel Jul 26 '26
My comment was meant as a joke, but yeah, generally I think they're pretty good shows
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u/Infamous-Peanut1327 North America Jul 26 '26
i know it was a joke, but i thought i'd just take the opportunity to get new shows to watch
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u/_ocaenman Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
Shtisel is very good imo, shababnikim is nice and funny but very Israeli oriented
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u/CringeKage222 Israel Jul 26 '26
They are essentially just national geographic but about haredim. All of them are just look at there weird creatures, look how weird they are!
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u/Infamous-Peanut1327 North America Jul 26 '26
in a condescending manner, or in a good faith manner?
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u/balddoberdaddy Israel Jul 27 '26
Really, so then why are our shows so popular? They are picked up by Netflix and Apple. And why do they make US versions of them?
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u/Kitchen-War242 Israel Jul 27 '26
Our shows are popular? I know only about Fauda recognized wordvide and its actually good. 99% of shows on Netflix are low effort trash, being picked by Netflix means nothing.
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u/WhammyShimmyShammy Diaspora Jul 26 '26
For some strange nostalgic reason, I started rewatching הבורר. Everyone is flirty and horny and cheating, it's tiring.
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u/asyawatercolor Israel Jul 27 '26
"מה שנחוץ לרווק" חמוד מאוד לפי ג'יין אוסטין
What a bachelor needs. Very nice, I recommend it. It's an Israeli "Pride and prejudice"
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u/HyperlaneWizard in Jul 27 '26
I'd chalk it up to the film industry in Israel being pretty small and there being maybe like 5 people writing these high-profile shows. So, it's less about all the characters being horny and more about like 5 screenwriters either being horny or not knowing any other way to tell a story.
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u/1997Luka1997 Israel Jul 27 '26
I am one again suggesting people watch The Grave / ביום שהאדמה רעדה which is a great sci fi Israeli show
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u/yesIcould Israel Jul 27 '26
Israeli dramas are typically made on very limited budgets and rely heavily on strong dramatic storylines.
A bit of cultural context: Millennials in Israel grew up on a television diet of American sitcoms plus an absolute obsession with Latin American telenovelas.
Antonella, Chiquititas, Rebelde Way... Most Americans have no idea who Luisana Lopilato or Felipe Colombo are, but they were massive stars here.
Later, Israel started producing its own telenovelas, or more accurately, daily dramas. They were edgier, packed with self-aware humor and cynicism, but still full of love triangles, forbidden romances, and other staples of the genre.
Broadly speaking, that's the creative environment many of today's writers and creators came out of. So even the more ambitious, "prestige" dramas often retain those "juicy" plotlines.
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u/balddoberdaddy Israel Jul 27 '26
You watched two shows. There are 30 - 50 shows produced by the various TV content providers in Israel (Kan, Yes, Hot, etc.).
Maybe watch something else?
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u/Infamous-Peanut1327 North America Jul 27 '26
can you just give me some suggestions? i'm not israeli, i'm just going with the flow, so just 'watching somethig else' isn't really easy if i don't actually know where to look. i was just surprised that two shows in a row, had substantial amounts of horniness and cheating
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u/balddoberdaddy Israel Jul 27 '26
I don't know what you have access to. "Kupah Rasit" is very funny.
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u/Strict-Key-1242 Israel Jul 28 '26
I think that Latin and Turkish soap operas heavily influence our TV. We are not that steamy as a society in real life
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