Abot Hameiri Barkai created the Israeli drama for Yes DBS Satellite Services Ltd.
Turkish production company OGM has acquired the remake rights to the Israeli drama, Shtisel, from Dori Media Group, which handles international licensing for the show.
The series first aired in Israel in June 2013 with both seasons achieving success and critical acclaim.
OGM plans to produce at least 20 episodes for the first season of the Turkish adaptation (Ömer) for the local network Star TV.
The original Shtisel, created and written by Ori Elon and Yehonatan Indursky, was produced by Fremantle-owned Israeli production company Abot Hameiri for Israel’s Yes network. The drama takes place in the world of ultra-Orthodox Jews who have preserved their culture for 5000 years with its magical, mysterious, and wise ways, unique to any other culture.
The Turkish show will track the same basic plot as the Israeli original, which follows Akiva Shtisel (Michael Aloni), a bachelor living in Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox Mea Shearim neighbourhood with his ageing father, who meets an older widow, Elisheva (Ayelet Zurer), living with her ten-year-old son.
Commenting on the deal, Nadav Palti, CEO & President of Dori Media Group, said: “For such an excellent Turkish production company to choose a format like this just goes to show how audiences from all backgrounds, be they Muslim or Jewish, or anyone else for that matter, can relate to the same family values and often fraught dynamics, significance of tradition, ceremony of food, etc., portrayed in Shitsel. At Dori Media, we believe that this universal appeal has been the driving force behind the huge success of this sensitive, compelling drama and we are extremely excited about this next step involving OGM Pictures in Turkey.”
Onur Guvenatam, Founder of OGM Pictures, Turkey, added: “As OGM Pictures, we are so pleased and honoured to introduce Ömer, the Turkish adaptation of the world-famous drama series Shtisel, to our audience. Shtisel is a very unique format that can be adapted to almost every culture and religion. So we are very excited to present Ömer in harmony with our culture and traditions. We believe our audience will also enjoy watching these cultural and religious practices and their effects on our characters and relationships that are so familiar to us.”
Dikla Barkai, Shtisel Producer, Head of Drama Abot Hameiri, stated: “We are very excited to see Shtisel adapted into a Turkish drama series. From the little we have seen so far, the trailer only, it was possible to distinguish quite a few similar elements. It is amazing that an Israeli series that tells a story about an ultra-Orthodox family in the ultra-orthodox world of ‘Mea Shearim’ in Jerusalem, looks so similar even when it is adapted into a drama series about Muslims in Turkey. It only emphasizes the strong human element in the series, which ultimately transcends religion and social affiliation. Eventually, we are all the same.
Season one of the series became the second-most-viewed Israeli drama on Yes and the show won 11 awards at the Israeli TV Awards in 2013, including Best Drama Series. Season two took six trophies, including best actor for Doval’e Glickman, who plays Akiva’s father Shulem, and best actress for Neta Riskin, who plays the long-suffering Orthodox wife and mother Giti Weiss. A third season aired in 2021.
