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“Fauda” Season 5 is resonating with Netflix’s global audience, reaching its highest ranking on the streamer’s charts yet after releasing the new episodes, which chronicle the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks and their aftermath.
The Israeli series, which draws on creators Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff’s time in the IDF, gathered 2.1 million viewers across the world, landing in fourth place among non-English language TV shows for the week of Sept. 7-13, per internal data. It was a Top 10 show in 41 countries, mostly in Europe and Asia, and landed at No. 1 in Israel and Lebanon.
The Lebanon milestone is particularly notable as Israel’s military is currently conducting operations in the country as part of its moves against the Hezbollah militia. Other Middle Eastern countries where “Fauda” charted include Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
The 11-episode Season 5 is mostly set in 2025, following its central characters as they deal with the fallout of the terrorist attacks, while a friend’s unsanctioned revenge mission in France pushes Doron (star and co-creator Lior Raz) into a dangerous undercover mission. Two of the episodes flash back to the Oct. 7 attacks, following the characters through their experience of the tragic day.
“Here in Israel, it’s something that no one can forget,” series co-creator Avi Issacharoff told Netflix’s Tudum, adding that the writers pondered whether to depict the Oct. 7 attacks in the show. He said they asked themselves, “‘Am I going to do something that will make people suffer more? [Make people] more sad? Hurt people that lost their closest [loved ones]? Hurt people on the other side?’”
“But,” he said, “I think that we went with our truth — with our belief — that this is the right story to tell, and this is the right way to tell the story.”
While the show has not yet seen its viewership show up on the U.S. charts, the show’s international ratings performance, particularly in the Middle East, is notable, as it showcases the Oct. 7 tragedy and aftermath from a distinctly Israeli point of view to viewers who may not have been exposed to the story this way before.
“I hope that people will watch it and will understand the price of war, how hard it is,” Raz told the outlet. “And [it’s] for people who don’t know exactly what happened, but have a hard opinion about what happened. I also think it’s important for them to see and then to take a side, to make an opinion. It doesn’t matter what kind of opinion, but first embrace it, see it, and then talk about it. I hope we’re going to have a conversation much more than anything else.”
“Fauda” previously charted with Season 4, peaking at No. 7 on the non-English series list in January 2023 tied to that premiere week.
