LONDON – Israeli drama When Heroes Fly, produced by Spiro Films, has been recommissioned by Keshet 12 – following record ratings which saw the award-winning series beat Reshet’s Big Brother for three weeks out of six.

Across the series run of ten episodes, which premiered in a head-to-head ratings battle with the formerly unbeatable reality show, the Canneseries-winning thriller had increased Keshet 12’s slot average by 35% in ratings and 21% in share, pulling in an average of 436,000 viewers per episode, and making it the most watched drama since the Channel 2 split in November.

The final episode was the most watched of the season, registering a 19.3% rating, 28.7% share and a viewing audience of 503,000, beating Big Brother, which has historically been the most watched show on Israeli TV, by 20% share and 15% ratings.

When Heroes Fly also saw record-breaking viewing figures on its web portal, MAKO, the third largest website in Israel, with 550,000 viewers watching each episode online. Over the whole season, an additional 40% was delayed viewing via MAKO, the equivalent of seven additional ratings points, increasing the season average rating to 22.7% and average viewing audience to 573,000 for each episode. This makes it the most successful drama of all time on the website.

Keshet 12’s renewal of When Heroes Fly is for an estimated run of eight to ten episodes.  Keshet International is currently selling the finished tape of this critically acclaimed Hebrew-language series globally.

Inspired by a bestselling novel, this dramatic thriller centres on four friends, war veterans of a Special Forces unit, who, eleven years after falling out, must reunite for one final and deeply personal rescue mission.

When they receive news that Yaeli, a former lover of one of the friends and sister of another, long believed to be dead, may still be alive, the four friends embark on a mission to find her. Their journey takes them deep into the heart of the Colombian jungle, where they soon realise that if they are to succeed in their search, each of them must first confront the trauma that tore them apart so many years before. Yaeli had run as far as she could from the people she loved the most, to save herself from the shadow of death they cast upon her.

Featuring breath-taking action sequences, When Heroes Fly is a fast-paced thriller centring on strong characters who have seen the dark side of life, and must walk through fire and brimstone once again in order to find peace. It explores the topics of healing, second chances, loss, and also the power of life and the human strength to fight for it.

When Heroes Fly (1×80’, 9×40’) is created, directed and written by Omri Givon, and produced by Spiro Films. The first episode with English subtitles is available here.