Bunim/Murray Productions, the
company behind such fare as The Real World, Keeping Up with the
Kardashians and Project Runway has signed a first-look deal with The
Operating Room to identify unscripted Israeli formats to bring to the U.S.
The deal comes as more Israeli
scripted and unscripted formats are finding a home in the U.S.
Showtime is currently developing Homeland
and HBO/Lionsgate is developing The Naked Truth. HBO's In
Treatment and Fox's Traffic Light were also based on Israeli
formats.
"Israel has proven to be a hotbed
for scripted formats, and we're eager to duplicate that success on the
unscripted side," noted Gil Goldschein, president of Bunim/Murray Productions
in a statement. "The Operating Room is one of the few, if not only, Israeli
production companies with people on the ground in Israel and Hollywood,
enabling them to move quickly and make the right connections in both
territories."
As a result of the deal,
Bunim/Murray will have a first look at The Operating Room's unscripted formats
and the ability to tap into The Operating Room's talent management group,
providing them with access to top producers of unscripted hits in Israel.
In announcing the deal Bunim/Murry
also touted the fact that The Operating Room's Tel Aviv office is led by one of
Israel's most successful showrunners, Yoram Mandel, who serves as director of
The Operating Room Israel.
Mandel has developed some of
Israel's most popular TV shows including The Arbitrator, the American
version of which is in development at Showtime, Exposed and Screenz.
He is also the showrunner for such leading Israeli TV series as Pillars of
Smoke, The Prime Minister's Children and Asfur.
Eric Feig at Abrams Garfinkel
Margolis Bergson and Stuart Tenzer at Coast Road Media negotiated the deal with
Bunim/Murray Productions on behalf of The Operating Room.
