TV Time: ‘Fountain’ Fizzles and ‘Fireflies’ Buzz

Fireflies – Next TV, Hot VOD, Hot 3, Paramount+
The new Hot original series Fireflies (in Hebrew, it’s called Gachliliot) will premiere on Next TV and Hot VOD on June 3, and will begin running on Hot 3 on June 5 at 10 p.m.

It’s been a while since there has been an Israeli series that flirts with supernatural phenomena – the last I can think of is The Malevolent Bride –and while I’m not yet allowed to write a full review of this eight-episode series, I’m enjoying it much more than I would have imagined, given that I tend not to like anything paranormal. The supernatural stuff here is really secondary to the atmospheric story about people struggling to make a good life in a neglected town.

Fireflies has a lot going for it, mainly its all-star cast, headed by multiple Ophir Award-winner Dana Ivgy (Zero Motivation, The Other Widow) and pop star Ninet Tayeb, as well as its atmosphere of depression and dread, something that many of us can relate to right now.

Ivgy plays Dikla, a pregnant policewoman (who brought to mind Frances McDormand as the pregnant cop heroine of the Coen brothers’ Fargo), who is called into action after a flood strikes the Dead Sea community where she works. The floods have dislodged buried land mines and left them all over the area, so she needs to keep the crowds away. Tayeb plays Mimi, a bomb disposal expert, who is Dikla’s childhood frenemy.

As if the dislodged mines didn’t create enough drama, strange things start happening in the area. As Dikla investigates, she finds herself spending time with Mimi, which dredges up all kinds of trauma and secrets. Ivgy is one of Israel’s leading actresses, and she always comes across as a real person. I have a neighbor who reminds me of her, and you probably do, too.

Tayeb, who was in the series When Heroes Fly and Zaguri, gave a great performance in a 2009 movie that not enough people saw – The Assassin Next Door, in which she played an abused wife who helped a prostitute fleeing her pimp – and I’m happy to see her back in a demanding role.

The rest of the cast is also very good, with Amir Khoury (Image of Victory) and Lia Elalouf (who won an Ophir Best Actress Award for her movie debut in Come Closer) in key roles. The series was created by Shahar Magen (Sirens) and Tawfik Abu Wael (Our Boys), with Abu Wael directing it.

The whole thing plays much like a season of True Detective, especially the last one with Jodie Foster, and I’m looking forward to the next episode. It will air later this year on Paramount+ around the world, and it was created by Hot with Ananey Studios Paramount.