Shtisel is one of the most watched Israeli TV series, which follows the story of a Jewish family residing in Geula, Jerusalem. The series premiered in 2013 and concluded in 2016 with two seasons on YES Network, Kan 11, and Yes TV Shows, and it can also be streamed on Netflix. But, Amazon acquired the show, and it will now have an American version. But, when will it arrive?
Created by Oro Elon and Yehonatan Indursky, Shtisel has caught the attention of many by challenging the dogmas of Orthodox Israeli Jews, portraying them as ordinary but religious people. The main focus of the series is Shulem Shtisel (played by Shulem Shtisel), the patriarch of the Shtisel and also a Rabbi at the local yeshiva. Shulem's children include Akiva, a romantic painter and have a soft spot for unavailable women; and Giti, a steel-spined mother of six and always swallow her own disappointments.
Rather than concentrating more in religious life in Jerusalem, Shtisel tells universal dramas such as dealing with unfaithful husbands, unrequited love, as well as unfulfilled goals. What's more interesting about the show is that the neighborhood where they live is peculiar, which is internet-free.
Back in 2016, Amazon Studios announced its plan on making an American version of Shtisel and it will be set in Brooklyn, New York, and the title would be Emmis. Also, Friends creator Marta Kauffman and her daughter Hannah K.S. Canter reportedly produce the American version, and they started brainstorming on how to bring the series to the American audiences. The pair has reportedly completed the script and will propose it soon to Amazon. Kauffman, born to a Jewish family, also wants to challenge the unfamiliarity of Americans regarding ultra-Orthodox rituals.
Emmis is set in Brooklyn which is closely similar to its Israeli predecessor by following an ultra-Orthodox family. The adaptation will follow the story of American-Jewish family residing in New York's outer boroughs. Israeli-American writer Etan Cohen, who grew in a religious family, is penning the script, and Kauffman said her team has a clear strategy.
Kauffman also said she has two achieve two ultimate goals for the script and final product of Emmis. First, she wanted to produce the series with the same affection that she and her daughter felt when they saw Shtisel for the first time. The second one is that they wanted to make sure that the stories, as well as the universality of those stories, are what people would take in and the rest is just a background.
