Bad Boy, an Israeli drama series shown on Hot and Netflix, received a nomination for the International Emmy Award for Best Drama Series on Thursday.
The winners will be announced at a festive ceremony to be held in New York on November 24.
Bad Boy, created by Ron Leshem and Hagar Ben Asher, is based on the life story of Daniel Chen, who also co-created the series. Chen went to prison as a teen and later became a standup comedian. The series was created by Tedy Productions and SIPUR and was shown in Israel on Hot. When it was released on Netflix earlier this year, it hit the top 10 in 47 countries around the world. It won nine awards from the Israeli Television Academy, Israel’s equivalent of the Emmys, including Best Drama.
Leshem met Chen when he was working as a journalist and did a feature on a juvenile prison and years later learned that Chen had become a comedian. That sparked an idea for Leshem, “to do a show about the soul of a comedian, who uses humor as a survival tool in jail,” he said in an interview with the Jerusalem Post earlier this year. “This was really my passion project.”
'Milestone for Israeli television'
Uri Gal, the VP of marketing and content at Hot said, “The nomination of Bad Boy for the Emmy is a milestone for Israeli television creativity and proof that Hot is not only a leading content player in Israel but also a global content brand. It’s also a clear message to the world that Israeli creativity is here to lead, to move, and to leave a mark.”
Emilio Schenker, CEO of SIPUR, said, “The Emmy nomination is a testament to the power of Israeli creativity and our ability to tell a local story that excites and moves audiences worldwide. This is a tremendous moment of pride for us and for the entire Israeli television industry.”
In 2021, the Israeli drama, Tehran, won the International Emmy for Best Drama. It aired in Israel on KAN and abroad on Apple TV+.