The Co-Production Company, recently launched by former Dreamworks Senior Vice President Doug Schwalbe, has partnered with Israel based Ananey Studios to co-produce the new live-action teen series Thalath (40×30). The Co-Production Company will seek to secure financing and global distribution for all territories outside of Israel, where the series has been commissioned to air on Nickelodeon Israel, exclusively for Hot Cable Network. Schwalbe will also serve as executive producer. The series is being offered in its original languages – Arabic and Hebrew – but is made for a global audience.
Thalath (three in Arabic) centers on sixteen-year-old best friends, Ella, Aisha and Malika, who grew up together in a mixed neighborhood in Jaffa where Jews (Ella), Arabs (Aisha), and refugees from Africa (Malika) live side by side. Though they each come from a different culture, their friendship is stronger than any language or religion. In the series, the girls start a multi-lingual band called Thalath, whose original music will be a featured part of the series.
The series is created by Michal Cooper Keren and Lior Yaron, with Cooper Keren serving as showrunner. The writing duo have collaborated on some of the most beloved and successful teen shows in Israel: Spyders for Nickelodeon International, which aired in 5 continents on over 100 Nickelodeon channels; Spell Keepers (Original title: Kadabra), winner of the Israeli Academy Award for Best Teen Show of 2017, which was accompanied by two best-selling books based on the show, and was sold to HBO Europe and other European broadcasters; North Star, which was adapted into the American show The Lodge and aired on Disney channels in 100 countries; and Summer Days, which aired in dubbed versions on dozens of Disney channels in Western Europe and South America. Michal Cooper Keren is also the screenwriter of the bi-national comedy Two Minutes from Paradise (2001), the winner of several international awards in Banff, Zurich and Geneva.
Former Corus and Wildbrain sales executive Jerry Diaz has joined The Co-Production Company team as Partner, Distribution for this project. He will lead the effort to secure program sales in territories throughout the world and will also serve as an executive producer.
Orly Atlas-Katz, Ananey Studios CEO and Osnat Saraga, SVP Development and Productions will both serve as executive producers.
“Thalath is truly breakthrough television in so many ways,” said Schwalbe. “The concept could not be more timely – or courageous – given the ongoing conflict in Israel and the global refugee crisis. On top of that, the series is leading the worldwide trend toward programming content in its original language and is one of the first shows for teens to do so. We are also thrilled to be collaborating with the team from Ananey and series creators Lior Yaron and Michal Cooper Keren. Their proven track records put them at the forefront of the wave of new Israeli creators making an exciting impact on the world television marketplace.”
Orly Atlas katz CEO Ananey ,EVP ViacomCBS Israel :”We are excited to collaborate on Thalath, our newest commission from Israel’s leading cable network HOT, with the team from Co-Production Company. Once in a while we get to work on a project that is not just entertaining but also captivating, moving and has the potential to inspire viewers to strive for better and stronger relationships. Thalath is exactly that and we can’t wait to reveal it to viewers everywhere.”
