In a move sure to invite controversy, Fox Television executive Brandon Webber yesterday announced the network has just completed shooting a pilot for a planned reality series set on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
‘Going Gazan,’ which Webber describes as a “rough synthesis” of ‘Keeping up with the Kardashians’ and ‘Breaking Bad,’ is filmed in the Israeli city of Sderot, which lies less than a mile from Gaza.
It follows the relationship between the Coens (Joel, a plastic surgeon; his wife Sarah, a fashion designer and interior decorator; and their two children) and the Hadads (Alim, a banker; his wife Ayah, a psychiatrist; and their three children).
As Webber explains: “The dynamic between two very affluent Jewish and Arabic families living in Israel proper offers an opportunity to witness both the drama and the lighter side of living in this dangerous part of the world.”
According to a press junket, the relationship between the two families is quite intimate and convoluted: Joel is plastic surgeon to both Alim and Ayah, while his wife Sarah decorates their home; in turn, Alim is Joel’s personal banker, and Ayah is Sarah’s psychiatrist.
“These two families are from opposite ends of the spectrum,” continued Webber, “yet they have dinner parties together, their kids have sleepovers, they co-coach their kids’ soccer team. They demonstrate just how interconnected we all are, that an affluent Israeli Jew is no different from an affluent Israeli Arab. The cameras dissolve all differences.”
The series should finish shooting this fall and is set to air in spring 2015.