The much-anticipated new Israeli thriller series, Unconditional, from Keshet and Apple TV, just had its world premiere on Channel 12 in Israel on Monday. Apple TV viewers around the world will have to wait until May 8, when the first two episodes will be released.
Unconditional, which is called The Daughter (Ha Bat) in Hebrew, is an eight-episode series about Orna (Liraz Chamami, who was in Bad Boy and Manayek), who has just gone on a dream trip to India with her 23-year-old daughter Gali (newcomer Talia Lynne Ronn), who has finished her army service.
But the vacation turns from a dream into a nightmare when airport security officers at a layover in Moscow drag them separately into interrogation rooms and arrest Gali, saying they found drugs in her backpack. Orna, a devoted mother with no money or connections, must figure out how to save her daughter – and it isn’t at all clear who she can trust to help her.
Other well-known actors in the cast include Evgenia Dudina, Yossi Marshek, Vladimir Friedman, Amir Haddad, and Leib Levin.
The biggest names in Israeli television
The series co-creators are two of the biggest names in the Israeli television industry, Adam Bizanski (Magpie) and Dana Idisis (On the Spectrum), and it was written by Bizanski. The series was directed by Johnathan Gurfinkel, who made the gritty teen movie, S#x Acts.
Because Apple TV considers the Jerusalem Post part of the international media rather than the Israeli press, I cannot write a full review of Unconditional until it airs on Apple TV in May. But if you are wondering if the series lives up to the hype, then the answer is a resounding “Yes.”
If you are watching it in Israel, you might want to cancel any upcoming events you have on Monday nights, because it is more than binge-worthy, it’s downright addictive. If you’re waiting for the Apple TV release, you’ll want to clear your calendar on Fridays. It has all the elements of a good thriller, but it goes deeper, exploring how much any of us really know about our adult children, and the result is a psychological drama that is entertaining, suspenseful, and thought-provoking.