The two veteran thespians are receiving seven-figure contracts each for their participation, according to DMZ. The report added that Netflix executives immediately contacted the duo after leaked audio of their barbs at each other was released last month.
“It was the funniest thing I ever heard,” said Netflix president of programming Seymour Proffit. “I knew these two were natural comedians, in the vein of Martin and Lewis, Penn & Teller and Smokey & the Bandit.”
The “buddy” show, loosely based on The Odd Couple, will feature Netanyahu and Gantz as two divorcee roommates, one facing a criminal trial and one facing early retirement. They go behind each other’s back to cause shenanigans but after the good-natured bickering and pratfalls, each episode resolves itself by emphasizing that together, they are stronger than apart.
Early screenings for critics and test audiences have been met with positive reception, with Netanyahu especially pushing the laugh meter with his catchphrases like “They won’t find anything because there isn’t anything” and “Sure we can have a rotation.”
Critics also pointed to Gantz’s “stunningly realistic” portrayal of the nice guy straight man who is unable to stand up to his roommate’s insufferable antics, yet supports him when the chips are down.
“Bibi and I are a great team together,” Gantz told The Jerusalem Roast in a Zoom interview from his trailer on set in Hollywood. “We knew we had something in our cabinet routines, where we honed our chemistry and timing. Heck, we’ve already have four elections of content to mine for material.”
“I’m happy we’re taking our comedic chops to a new audience,” Netanyahu said during a Zoom interview from his yacht. “Why should Israelis be the only ones to enjoy what we have to offer? We’re going from topping the polls to topping the Nielson ratings.”
Others were less excited by the new show, claiming that the material is rehashed from real life.
“It’s always the same thing with these two,” Yair Lapid and Avigdor Liberman said in a joint statement. “They never have new material, it’s just the same security shenanigans, corona chaos and haredi humor. Sure, they duped Israelis, but the rest of the world will see their shallow dynamic for what it really is.”
As of press time, the producers were in negotiations for casting Naftali Bennett and Arye Deri as the wacky next-door neighbors who constantly beg for scraps from the two Bennys.