Keshet Studios: Breaking Down the Ambitious Slate Being Built at Keshet International’s U.S.-Based Production Arm
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Since launching in 2015, Keshet Studios, the U.S. division of Keshet International (KI), has proved a model worth copying for international content producers looking to make it big in Hollywood. The company now develops and produces content for all the biggest broadcasters and streamers in several languages for both U.S. and international audiences. Led by president Peter Traugott, the outfit leans on KI’s existing international catalog while also acquiring third party IP and developing new originals. Below, 10 Keshet Studio titles currently in development or production.
“La Brea” Ordered by NBC at the beginning of 2021, this original series was created by David Applebaum (“The Mentalist”) and Keshet Studios, which co-produces alongside Universal Television. Already picked up for a second season, it was this fall’s top-rated series among audiences 18-49 in the U.S., with more than 47 million viewers tuning in to the L.A.-based disaster thriller.
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“The Missing” Another straight-to-series commission by NBC, this time for its Peacock streaming platform, this NYPD cop drama is adapted for U.S. TV by David E. Kelly who also executive produces. The U.S. adaptation will be based on Dror A. Mishani’s “The Missing File,” the first from a popular set of five novels by the author and is currently casting.
“Precious Cargo” (Previously known as “After School Special”) Loosely based on real-life experiences of creator Aiyana White (“Lucifer,” “La Brea”), who grew up as a low-income high school student working as a part-time nanny, this series is currently in paid development for Peacock. White will co-showrun with Ildy Modrovich, whom she met working on “Lucifer.”
“The Stuntwoman” Another project currently in development, this limited series was created by Israeli writer-producer Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman, an actor, producer and Nattiv’s wife. The two are preparing the true story of Julie Ann Johnson, Hollywood’s leading female stuntwoman in the ‘70s whose hard-earned legacy still resonates in the industry half a century later. Nattiv will direct.
“Ties that Bind” Based on Seven Studios’ popular Australian series “Secret Bridesmaids’ Business,” this U.S. adaptation is written by Dierdre Shaw (“Bluff City Law”). Billed as an elevated soapy thriller, the series turns on a trio of women who make a promise to one another which proves more dangerous than they could have imagined.
Keshet Studios/Seven Studios
“Dark Horse” Based on Blackfella Films’ strong-selling political thriller “Total Control,” a Toronto Film Festival player which won the Diversify TV Excellence Award at Mipcom 2020. Keshet’s update is being written by William Jehu Garroutte, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation who recently worked on ABC’s “Stumpton,” who executive produces alongside showrunner Jessica Goldberg, KS’ president Peter Traugott, Avi Nir from Keshet Media Group, Alon Shtruzman at Keshet International, Darren Dale and Miranda Dear at Blackfella Films and original series co-creator Rachel Griffiths.
“Echo 3” Currently shooting in Colombia, “Echo 3” is an English-Spanish bilingual proposition commissioned by Apple TV Plus, which adapts Keshet Broadcasting’s original series “When Heroes Fly,” a Canneseries winner created by Omri Givon. Two-time Oscar-winning writer-producer Mark Boal (“The Hurt Locker”) created the Keshet Studios adaptation, and will executive produce and showrun.
Credit: Nitai Netzer
“Rise and Kill First” Ordered by HBO, this limited series is based on Ronen Bergman’s eponymous best-selling book about the secret history of targeted assassinations in Israel. Written and directed by Yuval Adler (“The Operative”), it turns on a joint operation of the CIA and Mossad to assassinate Hezbollah co-founder Imad Mughniyeh.
“All the Rivers” One from Keshet’s feature film project pipeline, this film adapts the controversial 2014 novel of the same name, banned from school reading lists by the Israeli government for its depiction of an Israeli-Palestinian romance. Actor-producer Gal Gadot (“Wonder Woman”) and her husband Jaron Varsano are co-producing under their Pilot Wave label.
“Sylvia and the President” Keshet Studios is teaming with White Lodge Productions in association with Such Much Films on the development and production of writer/director Ben Lewin’s (“The Sessions”) upcoming feature. The film is the true story of disability-rights pioneer Sylvia Flexer who, at age 21, led a legendary sit-it protest at the White House before meeting Roosevelt, who was hiding his own struggles with polio at the time.
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