August 14, 2014, Updated August 11, 2014
Ayelet Zurer and Yair Lotan take the lead roles in the Israeli television thriller 'Hostages.' (Armoza Formats)
Ayelet Zurer and Yair Lotan take the lead roles in the Israeli television thriller ‘Hostages.’ (Armoza Formats)

Ukrainian commercial broadcaster 1+1 has acquired the original blue-and-white television drama, Hostages, as a ready-made format for its autumn lineup.

The award-winning Israeli TV show recently became available on SVOD platform Pickbox for 12 Central and Eastern European territories including Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Herzegovina and Montenegro.

Hostages follows a renowned surgeon (played by Ayelet Zurer, Man of Steel) who is unwittingly thrown in to a political conspiracy when she is ordered to sabotage a routine operation on the President, or her family will die.

Hostages really caught our interest when we saw it, due to the originality of the storyline and episodes that keep the audience on the edge of their seats. We are excited to be one of the first channels to be bringing non-Russian and non-Western content to our viewers and to be providing them with new and exciting dramas,” says Andrey Koval, Programming Director of 1+1 TV channel.

The original Israeli series, produced by Chaim Sharir (also of The Naked Truth) and written by Omri Givon and Rotem Shamir, won two awards at the 54th Festival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo — the Golden Nymphs for Best International Drama TV Series and for Outstanding Actress in a Drama TV Series.

“We’re thrilled to be breaking into new territories with Hostages – it is an intense and gripping drama with a universally-relatable story, making it the perfect drama for both local adaptation and finished product acquisition. The show has been winning awards and breaking ratings records in the countries in which it has aired, and we look forward to taking it even further to new broadcasters and territories,” says Avi Armoza, CEO of Armoza Formats.

 

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