‘Checkout,' ‘Fauda’ test the appetite for Israeli spy stories after October 7

Two Israeli productions arriving in the US this month test whether audiences still want Israeli spy stories after October 7. The dark comedy 'Checkout' follows an aging Mossad operative, while 'Fauda' season five directly confronts the October 7 massacre. Both face a challenging climate amid shifting American views on Israel.

Two Israeli productions arriving in the United States this month are testing whether there is still an appetite for Israeli spy stories in the post-October 7 world. 'Checkout,' a dark Israeli comedy about an aging Mossad operative, opened September 17 to a sold-out audience at the Quad Cinema in Manhattan. The film's writer, director and executive producer, Jonathan Dekel, said the six-year production was difficult, including shooting in Ukraine during the pandemic and barely escaping with the hard drive after the set was bombed during the Russian invasion. The fifth season of 'Fauda,' the Israeli action thriller about undercover counterterrorism agents, arrived on Netflix September 8 and directly deals with the aftermath of the October 7 attack. Lior Raz, the show's creator, co-writer and star, said the new season is an attempt to depict the Israeli perspective. Both projects face a challenging climate: a Pew Research Center survey conducted in March found that 60% of Americans had an unfavorable view of Israel. Dekel said finding a distributor for 'Checkout' was difficult, calling it a broad phenomenon for Israeli films.