As the year 2025 begins, streaming platforms are rushing to update their catalogs, including their Israeli-made content.

Netflix seems to have the biggest variety of Israeli content to choose from, carrying the hit show “Fauda,” probably the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Israeli content that has taken the world by storm.

But Israeli content is not only action and special ops. It’s also comedies, melodramas, crime thrillers and much more.

ISRAEL21c has compiled a list of the 10 best Israeli movies and TV shows available on streaming giant Netflix.

1. “Borders”

“Borders,” an eight-part series, follows the story of Avi, a young man from Tel Aviv who joins Israel’s Border Police to settle scores with Arabs from Jaffa, with whom he previously had a conflict. But his problematic past threatens to undermine his new career.

The show was created by film director Meni Yaesh and stars Ben Sultan as the main character, Avi. Sultan is a brother of Niv Sultan, the star of another hit Israeli show – “Tehran.”

The original title of the show, produced and aired in September 2023 by HOT, is actually Border Police. However, Netflix decided to go for a less contentious approach when translating the title from Hebrew into English for the platform.

2. “Seven Figures”

Another series title altered in translation is “Seven Figures,” which in the original Hebrew is “Six Zeroes.”

The show, initially aired by Israel’s Kan 11 in the summer of 2023, tells the story of six lottery winners who are forced to take a money-management workshop before being allowed to claim the monetary prize.

The show received widespread critical acclaim in Israel, winning seven prizes at the Israeli Academy of Film and Television Awards, including Best Comedy Series, Best Actress, Best Actor, and Best Director.

3. “Nevsu”

Channel 12-produced “Nevsu” won the 2018 International Emmy Award for comedy series. Although the show ended in 2021, the rights were purchased by Netflix, giving “Nevsu” a new life and a whole new audience.

The show tells the story of a mixed family, an Ethiopian father and an Ashkenazi mother, as they navigate raising their mixed-raced toddler in a complicated reality.

4. “A Body That Works”

Starring Gal Gadot’s best friend, actress Rotem Sela, “A Body That Works” is about an infertile couple, Elie and Ido, who decide to hire a surrogate to carry their child. The plotline focuses on the complex relationship that develops between the couple and the woman who is set to give birth to their baby.

Israeli TV star Yehuda Levi plays Ido, while “Fauda” star Lior Raz portrays Elie’s secret lover, adding spice to the seven-episode first season.

5. “Between Walls”

Set in the Old City of Jerusalem, “Between Walls” is a documentary about Platoon C, a special border police unit that operates in the capital’s Old City, prone to terror attacks. To add even more tension, the platoon is made up of Jews, Christians and Muslims, sometimes conflicted between their faith and their duty as cops.

The movie premiered on HOT in 2021 but has only recently been added to the streaming platform, which could attract a whole new audience.

6. “Black Space”

“Black Space,” the Channel 13 suspenseful crime drama that premiered in 2020, revolves around the investigation of a school shooting, which thankfully is not a common occurrence in Israel. Police initially arrest three Arab custodians but later discover that the details don’t add up.

The plot is very loosely based on the case of 13-year-old Tair Rada, who was stabbed to death in a school bathroom in the city of Katzrin in 2006. Roman Zadorov, a custodian at the school, was convicted of the murder, but in 2023 the conviction was overturned. The case remains unsolved to this day.

7. “Kissufim” 

Released in theaters in Israel over the past summer, the feature film tells the story of a group of Israeli soldiers who volunteer at Kibbutz Kissufim, located next to the Gaza border, in 1977.

“Kissufim” writer and director Keren Nechmad based the film on the experiences of her father, who served next to Gaza and lived in the kibbutz around the time Israel signed a peace treaty with Egypt in 1979.

The film was shot in Kissufim in the summer of 2021. On October 7, 2023, the kibbutz was ravaged by Hamas terrorists, who murdered 17 people there and kidnapped Shlomo Mansour, a Holocaust survivor, who is now 86 years old and still held captive in Gaza.

8. “The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem”

Since the show’s release on Yes, and later Netflix, three years ago, “The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem” has become a certified classic of Israeli-made television.

Based on the terrific novel by Sarit Yishai-Levi, the series depicts a multigenerational family in Jerusalem. The story spans the Ottoman, British and Israeli rule of Jerusalem, providing a vivid and picturesque backdrop to the dramatic lives and secrets of the Armoza family through the years. The series features some of Israel’s best-loved actors, and gives a sneak peek into the Israel of old and new.

9. “Checkout” 

Taking wacky to a completely new level is “Checkout,” Israel’s number one TV comedy. In recent years, the show has truly become part of Israeli folklore. Quotes from the series have transformed into the country’s most circulated memes.

The show follows the antics at a fictional supermarket, focusing on its employees and customers. It is so very funny because each of the characters is one you’ve encountered millions of times, now distilled down to their quirky, annoying or unique essence. The show’s cast is a roll call of Israel’s finest comedic actors, and while the plotline might seem very place-oriented, the story it tells is utterly universal.

10. “Fauda”

Last but not least, this list would not be complete without “Fauda.” The hit TV show, which captivated audiences around the globe, manages to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a complex, non-obvious way without glossing over its violence and ugliness while still retaining an action-packed, fun beat and an array of likeable characters from both sides.

The fifth season of “Fauda” is currently in development, expected to be released sometime around 2026. While we wait for the new episodes to arrive, it’s a great time to catch up on the four previous seasons.

Originally posted on israel21c.org