Screenwriter, Kirk Ellis (John Adams, Into the West,) has been summoned by Freemantle (American Idol, America’s Got Talent) to write the screenplay for its upcoming TV series, Bibi, Variety sources assert. With the production by Freemantle’s company, Abot Hameiri (X Factor, The Amazing Race), Bibi will emphasize the personal and political life of the “scandal haunted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” according to Variety. News of the high-end series comes after Netanyahu went on trial Sunday in Jerusalem on corruption charges a week prior to managing to remain in office after a protracted political crisis.
BiBi is based on Israeli journalist Ben Caspit’s bestselling biography, The Netanyahu Years (2017). Ellis regards Caspit’s biography on Israel’s longest-serving prime minister as insightful in how it “demonstrates how private life always shapes public affairs, and there’s no shortage of conflict-or opinions- when it comes to Benjamin Netanyahu,” he said in quote on Variety. He is “thrilled and honored to be working with Guy and the entire Abot Hameiri team to bring this story to life.”
Yet, its Abot Hameiri’s co-founder, Guy Hameiri, who believes that “Kirk’s esteemed catalog of work, particularly in exploring the lives of high-profile figures, makes him a perfect addition to this series,” he mentioned on Variety.
While there are multiple documentaries about Netanyahu, Bibi will be the first TV series remarking the prime minister’s life. Netanyahuthat Bibi “will be an epic political story with a very big philosophical and psychological undertone,” he mentioned. With these components, he also mentions that the series aims to explore “how the personal can become political, and vice versa” whilst encompassing a melodramatic air.
There are currently no details regarding an approximated timeline of the shows premiere date or others apart of the production crew.