London TV Screenings: Keshet International unveils its slate of Keshet 12 dramas

Keshet International recently presented its scripted slate at this year's London TV Screenings event. The catalog is headlined by Kuma Studios’ "A Body that Works," which has been selected to receive its international premier in competition at Series Mania 2023. “On the day that we officially launch Keshet 12’s A Body that Works to buyers in London, following its incredible debut in Israel, we are thrilled to be able share details of the rest of Keshet’s slate of eight dramas for the global market," Kelly Wright, KI’s MD of Distribution, said. 

Commissioned by Keshet Broadcasting for Israel, "Trust No One" and season two of "Line in the Sand" are both scheduled to premiere on Keshet 12 later this year and will be launched to market by Keshet International.  The rest of Keshet 12’s 100M NIS slate of new dramas includes: an as yet "Untitled Murder Mystery Series" (W/T); relationship drama "Lovesick (W/T);" an Agatha Christie-style crime drama called "Murder at the "Dead Sea," also a working titles, "Unconditional (W/T)," an international thriller based on true events; and military thriller "Untitled Legal Drama," a working title.

Starring Rotem Sela and Yehuda Levi as a childless couple who enlist the help of a surrogate alongside Lior Raz, "A Body that Works" is written by Shira Hadad and Dror Mishani and directed by Shay Capon. The eight-part relationship drama is currently premiering strongly on Keshet 12 to positivereviews, resulting in a national outcry about women and family rights. Its viewing share has grown by 13% from 23.5% for the first episode (13 February) to a 26.5% for the third (27 February), increasing ratings from a 16.2 TVR to 17.1 over the same period – when a drop of -10-20% is usually expected. 

Regarded in Israel as Keshet’s biggest upcoming drama launch for some years, "Trust No One" is a nine-part thriller co-created by Ron Leshem, Amit Cohen, and Daniel Amsel (MICE) - and directed by Ofir Lobel (A Wonderful Country, Black Space). Starring Yehuda Levi in the central role of Itamar, Trust No One is a story about leadership, about how lonely it gets at the top, and about the death of privacy. The youngest ever director of the most powerful intelligence agency in Israel, Itamar has forged a career by recruiting and handling well-connected informants.  Now he is facing the worst crisis of his life: Itamar is being framed as the source of a cyber security leak that is exposing the Shin Bet’s top-secret agents one-by-one - starting with Shuruk, daughter of a Hamas leader who was recruited by Itamar to spy on her father when she was just 17 years old. Totally isolated and no longer able to trust anyone, Itamar is forced to use the kind of morally questionable espionage tools he has always opposed, to clear his name and save his agents’ lives – exposing a world where any smartphone, CCTV camera and digital device can be hacked, and deep fake videos and spyware are as commonly used as Instagram filters.

"Line IN The Sand" is a modern-day title following a team of vigilante cops who'll do anything to clean up their town. Season 2 picks up where the first left off - with our now ex-coppers being released from prison, have served their time - and a new criminal kingpin in place. Alon and his team are keen to get back to work making Nahariya's streets safe - but their criminal records prevent them being reinstated, forcing them to go undercover to bring down the new gang from the inside. Without the protection of their police badges or weapons, Alon and his team find themselves crossing that line in the sand again, but this time without any safety net at all. Created by Yuval Yefet and Rotem Shamir and produced by Koda Communications, the first, eight-part season of "Line in the Sand" still retains its crown as Israel's highest rating drama following the Channel 2 split in 2017. 

Following its global debut at the 2021 Monte-Carlo TV Festival, Season 1 went on to sell into 12 key territories, including Australia (Paramount+), Brazil (Globosat), Belgium (BeTV), Germany (RTL Crime), Indonesia (Mola TV), Italy (Mola TV), Spain (Filmin), and the United Kingdom (Mola TV)."Trust No One has all the key ingredients you've come to expect from a high-stakes Israeli thriller – secrets, lies, and spies," Wright said. "And this new season of our successful crime drama Line in the Sand is even bigger, bolder, and more entertaining than the first. We’re confident this new crop of Keshet dramas will prove as popular as those that have come before them.”