Endemol Shine Israel Behind New Dramedy for YES

Endemol Shine Group has revealed the new dramedy Fifty, which is being produced by Endemol Shine Israel for the Israeli broadcaster YES.

Fifty is an eight-part series created by novelist and screenwriter Yael Hedaya, who has written for the Israeli drama series Betipul (In Treatment). The story follows 49-year-old widowed screenwriter Alona Nachmias, who is struggling to raise her three children. She has two goals she wants to achieve before turning 50: to sign a development deal for her comedy series and to have sex.

Directed by Daphna Levine—one of the creators of Euphoria, which was recently adapted by HBO—Fifty stars Ilanit Ben-Yaakov, Dudu Elharar, Guy Arieli and Ofri Prishkolnik, with a guest appearance by Guri Alfi.

Endemol Shine is the exclusive distributor of Fifty across all platforms and also has the rights to produce or license local versions of the show around the world.

Hedaya commented: “Fifty is inspired and fuelled by the charged particles of my life as a writer and a single mother by choice, of three children. The single part was not by choice, but the kids were. Everyone admires me for my courage, but truth is I was probably just exploring new methods of self-destruction. When I turned 50 I decided to let nature do the job, so that I can sit back and enjoy being an aging dysfunctional parent.”

Amir Ganor, CEO of Endemol Shine Israel, added: “Fifty is about a woman who would rather drop dead than embrace ‘the change,’ and who believes that characters that embrace things should not be on TV to begin with. We saw the potential from the very beginning as Yael Hedaya encapsulates the internal conflicts of a time that often feels like the bad remake of adolescence, only this time there’s no one to rebel against. This darkly funny series will resonate with audiences anywhere and with such excellent Israeli talent both on and off screen, we are confident it will be a sure-fire hit.”