Endemol Shine Aligns with Gal Gadot for U.S. Queens Adaptation

Endemol Shine North America and Endemol Shine Israel are teaming with Gal Gadot and Jaron Varsano’s production company Pilot Wave to develop a U.S. version of the hit Israeli series Queens.

Queens is based on Endemol Shine Israel’s critically acclaimed original series created by Gal Zaid, Dani Rosenberg, Ruth Zaid and Dror Nobelman and based on an idea by Limor Nahmias. The Israeli version of the show follows the women of the Malka family as they band together after all the family’s men are murdered by a rival crime syndicate.

Gadot and Varsano will serve as executive producers on the U.S. version of Queens with Israeli network HOT’s Nadav Hanin, Mirit Toovi and Guy Levy; Endemol Shine Israel’s Amir Ganor, Gal Zaid and Ruth Zaid; as well as Sharon Levy, Endemol Shine North America’s president of unscripted and scripted TV, and Lisa Fahrenholt. The teams are currently packaging up the project and plan to take it to the marketplace in the new year.

Levy said: “Queens is a complex piece about being female in our day in age, and all that goes with that from a family, career and relationship perspective. Watching these women make bold decisions, hilarious mistakes and learn to lean on one another set against a thriller backdrop, gives this show such a unique spirit that we all fell in love with it immediately. It’s gratifying to see a series that treats women with a deft complexity, showcasing that our differences are the strengths that unite us.”

Gal Zaid said: “Queens is a brilliant story of female empowerment, with comic undertones and larger-than-life, eccentric women at its heart. HOT nurtured this show and laid excellent groundwork to ensure its success and I’m absolutely thrilled to evolve the dramatic characters for the U.S. version with Gal, Jaron and the talented team at Endemol Shine North America.”

Gadot and Varsano added: “We are so excited to celebrate these women through the Queens story. These complex characters are captivating, delightfully funny and emotional. It is rare to find content that conveys characters in such a truthful way while mirroring society. We are looking forward to bringing their story to the world and working with the Endemol Shine team on this project.”

Endemol Shine Israel is currently producing the second season of Queens, which will make its debut on HOT in Israel in 2020. The first season, which launched in October 2018, was HOT’s most-watched series of the year.