Israeli television series have long gained an audience that watches them with interest, both in Israel and in other countries. The productions are characterized by the diversity of genres (police, political, comic, psychological) and the originality of the formulas, which have often been exported. 'The Cops' ('haShotrim'), one of the recent productions made by channel 12, the most popular commercial television station, ended its first and possibly only season this week, after eight episodes. It is a police drama inspired by a real case that happened 15 years ago, a famous and highly publicised case. Even if the producers of the series felt obliged to apply a disclaimer, they did not make many other efforts to hide the source of inspiration. The location of the story is the city of Naharia in northern Israel where the real case took place, a city that at that time became an arena of crime and confrontation between criminals. The names and details are of course different, but the main idea and atmosphere are faithfully rendered, and the public debate about this unusual case was resumed or restarted after the broadcasting of this series.
The lead hero, Alon Shenhav (Tsahi Halevi) could be the ideal policeman. He is a second generation cop in a family of police officers and returns to his hometown after many years together with his wife (Shani Cohen) and his teenage daughter, being appointed head of the detectives team. What he finds in Naharia is an atmosphere of corruption and terror. The gang led by the gangster Maor Ezra (Shlomi Ifrah) blackmails small traders, controls key city officials and with their help tries to expand its influence in the real estate business, while police officers, threatened and intimidated, are afraid to act against them. Lacking support from his superiors, Alon Shenhav along with three other police officers decide to respond to violence by violence, in order to create discord between criminals and catch them in flagrante delicto to bring them behind bars. Can crime be fought by crime, criminal violence annihilated by illegal police violence? What support do police officers who face violent crime receive and how are their families and privacy protected when threatened by the mob with whom they are constantly at war? These are the questions that the real case and now the series inspired by that case raised.
'The Cops' joins a series of Israeli series inspired by the work of the Israeli police and the professional and private lives of police officers. A few months ago, 'Manayek' was another Israeli production dealing with the same space. The chronic problems of the police, quite well known to the Israeli public (corruption, violence, but also the devotion and difficult conditions in which the cops work), are addressed here frontally and without hesitation. What is special about this recent series is that being based on real events the series gains more authenticity. The viewers' attention was permanently kept awake, which is not easy, considering that it is a known case, with a 'well-known' ending. And yet, the last three episodes have managed to capture and raise the level of suspense with surprises and upheavals. The excellent Israeli actors are doing a good job, as in most cases. I also noticed some young actors that we have a good chance to see in significant roles in the future, as they develop their careers. I would like to highlight two interpretations that caught my attention: that of Shani Cohen as Miki, the wife of the main hero, distributed in a dramatic role contrary to the comic typology with which he accustomed us in previous appearances and especially in the television satirical programs, and that of debutant Shlomi Ifrah who makes the in role of mob leader Maor such an authentic creation that the impression he leaves is that he is not playing but that he is living his role on screen. I am not convinced that this series will enjoy the international success of many other popular Israeli series, because most viewers abroad do not know about the real case, but I will be happy to be proved wrong. It is not clear to me whether there will be other seasons. If there will be, 'The Cops' will probably become a series much closer to fiction than to docu-drama. It will be interesting anyway.
