Israeli vampire series ‘Juda’ picked up by US studio

The show takes place “in the criminal underworld and tells the story of Juda, a low-life gambler who borrows money from the French mafia for a seat at a high-stakes Romanian poker game and wins big.”

By JNS

American entertainment company Hulu has acquired the popular Israeli vampire show “Juda” from Paris-based media company Banijay. It will premiere on the online video-streaming service in the United States early this year, as Banjay separately secured an agreement with a yet-to-be-identified American studio for remake privileges.

Originally produced by the Israeli company United Studios for the Israeli cable company HOT, the show, written by and starring Zion Baruch, takes place “in the criminal underworld and tells the story of Juda, a low-life gambler who borrows money from the French mafia for a seat at a high-stakes Romanian poker game and wins big,” reported Variety. “But he ends up being robbed and bitten by a seductive vampire, who winds up on her own path to mortality because she has unwittingly broken a rule of her ancestors by drinking Jewish blood.”

Andreas Lemos, vice president of North America sales and acquisitions for Banijay Rights, the global distribution division of Banijay Group, said: “With Hulu as our US broadcast partners for this much-buzzed-about, genre-busting show, we will have a prestigious and accessible platform for American audiences to discover one of the most original series of recent times, melding classic sci-fi, horror and noir elements into a wildly entertaining hybrid.”

HOT VP of content Nadav Hanin said the agreement exemplifies that “excellent content truly has no borders.”

“It is HOT’s prime agenda to be the home of Israeli original content and to be an essential element in the development of the Israeli television industry,” he said.