SummaryMossad agent Tamar Rabinyan (Niv Sultan) goes undercover in Tehran in this series created by Moshe Zonder, Dana Eden, and Maor Kohn.
[Premiered originally in Israel on Kan 11 on 22 Jun 2020]
SummaryMossad agent Tamar Rabinyan (Niv Sultan) goes undercover in Tehran in this series created by Moshe Zonder, Dana Eden, and Maor Kohn.
[Premiered originally in Israel on Kan 11 on 22 Jun 2020]
Tense, atmospheric and now with Glenn Close bringing her movie-star heft, it’s a corkscrewing drama that paints a nuanced portrait of a country often caricatured as one-dimensionally theocratic and anti-Western. Just as importantly, it ratchets up the tension with bruising panache.
I still have a sneaking suspicion that Tehran thinks of itself as slightly more highbrow than it is, but it is a solid thriller, often breathlessly exciting, and has cracked the code of relentless tension.
With a story set against the backdrop of a still explosive situation one would guess some people would feel emotionally sensitive about the whole situation. The story telling and the suspense on the other hand are brilliant. The series gives one a peak into to conflicting aspects of war and sets the different interests against each other. The courage and passion of people to fight for what they believe is right but on direct opposite sides. Makes one think about war and its devastating effects. Brilliant series that gets my 10/10
Strip away the subtitles and the beautiful yet subtlety alien Middle East vistas and what’s left is essentially a gender-swapped Bourne Identity. But Zonder orchestras the tension masterfully, crafting a thriller as stylish as it is heart-stopping.
Though it’s set in two countries, alternates between English, Hebrew and Farsi and boasts a sprawling cast, Tehran is so immersive and narratively orderly that it’s almost impossible to get lost.
Improbable though it is as a spy story, “Tehran” maintains its suspense throughout, possibly because it’s about more than spying. It’s a tale that incorporates the drama of lost cultures and identities. ... A satisfying ride.
Tics like these are easy enough to overlook in an action-oriented spy thriller; more bothersome is how the new season adds love to Tamar’s motivations (and encumbrances), a move that jacks up the emotional stakes but makes the drama squishier and a little less interesting. The show does fine with the prickly, mature relationship of Faraz and Naahid, but Tamar and Milad’s romance doesn’t rise above cliché, and Sultan and Alenabi don’t bring much heat to it.
As television, the show, created by Moshe Zonder (previously the head writer of Israeli series “Fauda”) is flawed: At least a few episodes too long, lacking plausibility or tension, turgid when it wants to be zippy. ... “Tehran” doesn’t exclude Iranians entirely, but does frame them as allies or obstacles of a Mossad mission depicted uncritically and somewhat blankly as the work of justice, and more than that as a vehicle for thrills and scares.
Une série d’espionnage israélienne qui n’est pas sans rappeler notre (excellente) série nationale à nous, Le Bureau des Légendes, sauf qu’ici nous suivons les tribulations du Mossad en infiltration chez les barbus radicalisés… à Téhéran, capitale de la dictature islamiste.
Un réalisme certain est de rigueur dans cette première saison de 8 épisodes, ainsi que pas mal de moyens déployés ; la réalisation est d’ailleurs de haute volée et les comédiens assez convaincants. L’héroïne est gracieuse et vraiment très jolie mais sans doute pas aussi convaincante pour sa part (la part du lion ou de la lionne plutôt) qui concerne évidemment le rôle premier et principal.
En tout cas, on ne s’ennuie pas une seconde et l’ensemble n’est pas avare de surprises ou de rebondissements, surtout vers la fin… comme de coutume, il peut se trouver dans ces cas de figure quelques agents doubles qui s’avèrent des agents triples ou quadruples, voire plus si affinités !
L’ambiance volontiers paranoïde est très bien restituée dans cette ville sous le joug de la tyrannie religieuse fanatisée avec les conséquences que cela peut avoir des deux côtés, à savoir chez les illuminés du turban ou chez les « résistants » : c’est très instructif et pas si manichéen que ça, en définitive, car le Renseignement israélien est bien connu pour son pragmatisme…
Ajoutons que la musique à tenance électro est bien agréable et que la fin un peu précipitée mais palpitante est assez abrupte… peut-être verrons-nous une saison 2 qui précisera tout cela. En l’état et quoi qu’il en soit, « Theran » reste une série très recommandable et fort bien fichue.
Et justement, la saison 2 ne déçoit pas, bien au contraire ! elle s’avère encore meilleure, mieux rythmée, menée tambour battant du début à la fin… au prix cependant de raccourcis qui mettent un peu à mal la vraisemblance scénaristique… mais on y gagne au change, tout compte fait : une saison palpitante, rebondissante, quasi-parfaite !
I agree 100% with Variety's review. Clearly, the creators of the show have done an outstanding job in portraying Tehran - the city - and adding some much appreciated dimension of reality to the story. But that's where it ends. The story is too simple and weird at times even to be more than OK. As a spy show it falls short on the basic principles of what makes a thrilling series, for instance developing the Iranian side of the story more than just the idea that you're either 'with us or against us' or simply delving more into characters instead of introducing too many of them. So there is certainly room for improvement if there is a season 2.
The cast, filming, photography and general ambiance of the series is excellent, the viewer is on edge the whole time. The reason for such a bad score, is that the topic and its delivery is nothing short of Israeli propaganda. It is based on Mosad agents coming into Iran to enable the bombing of a nuclear research facility. So clearly, the Iranians are the bad guys, and Israelis the good ones. This bears little on the reality of the world at the moment. Neither country can boast being representative of their populations, and the secret services in each are awful.
Meh. It's a cut rate Homeland with a star who lacks even a fraction of Clair Danes' charm. What a stupid premise that is poorly executed. What a stupid country that pulls people off a plane that wasn't even supposed to land there and interrogates them for reasons. Totally implausible.