Israeli TV show “Fauda” has become a global hit since the streaming rights for the show were acquired by Netflix a few years ago.
The show, produced by Israeli network Yes, where it first aired in 2015, was created by childhood friends and veterans of the Israeli military’s undercover units — journalist Avi Issacharoff and actor Lior Raz.
It tells the story of Doron Kavillio, played by Raz, a commander in the elite undercover Mista’arvim unit, and his team as they pursue arch-terrorists in the West Bank, Gaza and Europe.
The fourth season, which aired in 2022, ended on a cliffhanger, with Doron and his team members injured during a shootout with terrorists.
If you have a Netflix account, you have most likely heard about the hit TV show “Fauda.”
What you may not know is that the show’s cocreator and lead star, Lior Raz, is not only a skilled actor and screenwriter.
The final scene shows wounded Doron lying on the ground seemingly lifeless. But it appears he survived the ordeal because “Fauda” was renewed for Season 5 in September 2023.
Not a whole lot is known about Season 5 yet, but there are a few bits and pieces that we know, and we’ve got them all here for you.
1. Yes Studios, which also handles Fauda’s international distribution, said the new season will premiere in Israel in early 2026, and be released on Netflix later in the year. In fact, cocreators only recently finalized the Season 5 plotline, having “tossed out” all the work they had done on it following the October 7 Hamas attacks.
“Fauda” producer Liat Benasuly Amit said that the rewriting process of Season 5 took a year. The Hollywood Reporter said the show is scheduled to start production at the end of April, 2025.
2. In a recent interview, Raz elaborated on the changes. He said Season 5 will take place two years after the October 7 attacks, and “will address it profoundly.” Raz, who at the time was doing a promotional run for “Gladiator II,” added that it was upsetting to be abroad while his children and partner in Israel were running to bomb shelters.
3. Season 5’s plotline may or may not revolve around hostage rescue. Season 3 actually involved Doron’s unit going into Gaza to rescue hostages. At the time, cocreators said they wanted that storyline to stretch for the entire season, but ultimately “gave up on it.”
In a recent interview, Issacharoff said it was time to rethink the idea of an entire season focusing on a hostage rescue operation. “That Saturday morning [of October 7, 2023], we saw something way, way, way worse than what we tried to imagine then,” he added.
4. Israeli actor and singer Idan Amedi announced in February that he will not return for Fauda’s fifth season, as a result of his ongoing recovery from severe injuries sustained during reserve duty in the Combat Engineering Corps in Gaza.
Amedi, who played undercover agent Sagi Tzur – the husband of intelligence officer Nurit – in Fauda, was seriously injured in an explosion that killed six of his friends, and injured several others. When Amedi arrived at the hospital after the explosion, he was in such poor condition that no-one recognized him, and medics had written ‘Anonymous, 22 years old’ on his arm.
However, it was recently revealed that Amedi will return for Season 5 in a guest role. Producers said a storyline for Amedi’s character Sagi has already been written into the new season, and in order not to change the script yet again, they reached an understanding with the actor and singer.
5. The show’s production studio announced recently that acclaimed French actress and “Inglourious Basterds” star Mélanie Laurent will join the cast of the new season. Yes Studios did not reveal any details on the role Laurent is set to play, but said she will feature in seven out of nine episodes planned for the fifth season.
Lior Raz, Fauda’s star and cocreator, announced the news on his social media, writing, “Welcome Mélanie Laurent.”
Welcome Mélanie Laurent ????https://t.co/DYmPO0fSRE
— Fauda Official (@FaudaOfficial) April 14, 2025
6. In the meantime, if you already rewatched all the previous “Fauda” seasons, how about an Indian adaptation of the show?
The second season of “Taanav,” the official remake of “Fauda,” was released earlier this month. It tells the story of an Indian special force unit working to keep terrorism under control in Kashmir, where a territorial conflict between India and Pakistan has been ongoing since 1947.
Apparently, even the Indian version of “Fauda” is also a huge hit!
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