The fifth season of Fauda has arrived on Netflix worldwide, bringing the hit Israeli series into territory shaped directly by the October 7 massacre and its aftermath.
In the latest episode of The Jerusalem Post’s Playlist podcast, the hosts discuss how the new season balances the familiar elements of the counterterrorism drama with the trauma left by October 7. The season begins several years after the attack, with Doron and other members of the unit struggling with what happened before being drawn into a hunt for terrorists who escaped to Europe.
Two episodes, however, return directly to October 7 through extended flashbacks. They were broadcast in Israel with content warnings, and viewers were told they could skip them without losing track of the wider plot.
The scenes draw heavily on real footage and accounts from the massacre, including events at kibbutzim and the Nova music festival, making them among the season’s most difficult moments to watch.
The podcast also looks back at earlier Israeli counterterrorism films, particularly Menahem Golan’s Operation Thunderbolt, which dramatized the Entebbe rescue and was nominated for an Academy Award. The hosts then revisit Golan’s The Delta Force, starring Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin, describing the film as dated and packed with action movie clichés, but still highly entertaining.
The episode ends with Hooligans, an Israeli crime drama set against the world of Jerusalem soccer fans. The series follows a young man recruited by police to infiltrate a criminal group connected to extremist supporters. After airing in Israel, the show has attracted viewers in Germany and has also been sold for broadcast in France.
Together, the selections show how Israeli television and film continue to draw on the country’s security challenges, social divisions and recent history, while increasingly finding audiences far beyond Israel.