Written by new-contact on May 14, 2014. Posted in On Location

Homeland co-creator calls for more US TV productions to film Israel

The Israeli co-creator of hit US terrorism drama Homeland has called for more US productions to film in international locations including Israel. Gideon Raff is currently working on new US dramas Tyrant and The Dig, both of which are shooting in Israel.

Homeland is in fact based on an Israeli drama created by Raff and he re-packaged the story for the US with Howard Gordon.

Tyrant tells the story of the son of a Middle Eastern dictator who has made a life in the US, only to return to his (fictional) home country as an uprising begins. The Dig focuses on an FBI agent attaché to Israel who becomes embroiled in a murder mystery in Arab Jerusalem.

In an interview with Reuters, Raff was critical of decisions to recreate Middle Eastern locations in the US.

“To concoct the Middle East in Los Angeles you have to spend a lot of money,” Raff told the outlet: “You need to get the cars, the attire and the faces right. The Middle East is not just a desert and Americans are increasingly sophisticated and expect a show set outside the United States to have been shot outside of the United States.”

To concoct the Middle East in Los Angeles you have to spend a lot of money. You need to get the cars, the attire and the faces right.

Gideon Raff, Writer/Director

Tyrant filmed its pilot on location in Morocco – a hugely popular double for Middle Eastern locations – before switching to Kfar Sava in central Israel to shoot ten full episodes. The Dig will film on location in Jerusalem.

The Mayor of Jerusalem visited Los Angeles in early 2013 to forge stronger links with Hollywood. Earlier this year, Israeli-born actress Natalie Portman filmed her directorial debut A Tale of Love and Darkness on location in Jerusalem. The film is an adaptation of the autobiographical novel by Israeli writer Amos Oz.