The Dana Eden (Saving the Wildlife, A Fool’s Dream) produced series Tehran was released exclusively to Apple TV+ on Friday. The producer has since been involved in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss the implications of this new series. The eight episode first season stars Niv Sultan (Almost Famous, Flawless) as Tamar Rabinyan, talented Mossad agent who sneaks into her hometown of Tehran, Iran in order to take on her first mission: to impair Iran’s air defenses so that the Israeli military is able to overlook Iranian nuclear plants.
Regarding the series’ subject matter, Eden told The Hollywood Reporter that “What’s going on with Iran and the U.S. is good for us. You always want to know your enemy.” Despite being born in Tehran, Rabinyan struggles to make the return back to her hometown. Eden adds, “For the Americans, Iran is the new villain….We’re trying to do with Tehran what Fauda did [for the Palestine-Israel conflict], but with Mossad agent in Iran. Since Iran is hot in the news, I was looking for a way to tell the story around that conflict,” via The Hollywood Reporter. The series Fauda followed members of an Israeli unit behind Palestinian lines as they attempt to fight terrorists in the West Bank.
In the interview, Eden hoped that Tehran would resonate Europeans who have family living abroad or even further, with individuals who are interested in learning more about refugees who arrive at their borders from the Middle East in crisis. He claimed that given the timeliness of the Israeli-Iranian conflict, “It’s not just those who read the New York Times that will get this show,” per The Hollywood Reporter.
Meanwhile, Julien Leroux (Mirage), a Tehran executive producer, further proved the show’s accessibility with the Hebrew and Farsi dialogue utilized in the series. He told The Hollywood Reporter, “It’s no barrier now. Languages are, if anything, providing another experience. We’ve seen it with Narcos, in Spanish. People have an appetite for dramas that aren’t just cookie cutter TV.”
The spy thriller’s eight episode first season is now available to stream on Apple TV+ and the trailer can be viewed below: