Weekend Buff

One of the top streaming series -- ever

Happy weekend all! We made it again.

Paul filling in for Chris today — and so we turn to a streaming series with an intel bent (and what a series): the Israeli counter-terrorism drama, Fauda.

In the opinion of this writer, only The Wire is on a par with Fauda when it comes to an immersive streaming show. You don’t watch Fauda — you live through it.

The premise is simple enough. An elite unit of Israeli commandos works to stop various plots targeting, generally, Tel Aviv. What makes the show so compelling, and the atmosphere so taut, is the characters. Whether Israeli, Palestinian, Iranian, Lebanese, etc, the characters are so real, so far from caricatures, you’ll feel like you know them.

Which is where Fauda tends to surprise most. Unlike most (western) streaming series, this show is not afraid to kill off a major character when the plot calls for it. The writers seem to have made the conscious decision that — as in real life — no one is safe.

Both sides of the Israeli conflict are treated respectfully — and neither side is spared a (sometimes harsh) microscope. Among the back-stories, the soap opera quotient is mercifully low. And of course for all this characterization to work, the acting has to be uniformly excellent. It is.

Another thing about those characters — they look real. Again, unlike most streaming series, the main characters don’t look like they refugees from a modeling agency. The refugees here actually look like refugees.

One warning about Fauda, however: it can be brutal. On the characters, and the viewer.

Another warning: it is one of the hardest shows I’ve ever watched to simply turn off and go to bed. The plotting is so adept, the episodes inevitably end with you saying, “honey, just one more.”

(A friend has a solution: Whenever he wants to finish for the night, he stops the episode five minutes before its end. Wish I’d thought of that. I’d be better rested).

Fauda has had four seasons, and they’re all utterly engrossing. I hope there’s a fifth. It streams on Netflix, as part of the normal subscription package.

If the topic interests you at all — you must.

Meantime: Enjoy your weekend!