Introduction

Prisoners of War (original title in Hebrew: חטופים Translit.: Hatufim/Khatufim Translated: “Abductees”) is an Israeli television drama series made by Keshet and originally aired on Israel’s Channel 2 from March to May 2010. A second season aired in Israel from October to December 2012.

The series was created by Israeli director, screenwriter and producer Gideon Raff.

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The programme was acquired by 20th Century Fox Television before it aired in Israel, and:

• Was adapted into the eight seasons and 96 episodes of the acclaimed series Homeland for Showtime in the United States.
• In Russia it was adapted into the TV series Rodina in 2015.
• In India it was officially adapted as a finite 110 episode television series P.O.W. – Bandi Yuddh Ke by Nikhil Advani in 2016 and 2017 with Hatufim creator Gideon Raff consulting for the series.

Outline

The series, set in 2008, depicts three Israeli soldiers who were captured 17 years previously while on a secret mission with their unit in Lebanon.

After 17 years in captivity, Israeli soldiers Nimrode Klein, Uri Zach, and Amiel Ben Horin return home to the country that made them national icons.

They work to overcome the trauma of torture and captivity while settling back into their interrupted family lives.

Meanwhile, the military psychiatrist assigned to them finds discrepancies in the soldiers’ testimonies, and launches an investigation to discover what they are hiding.

Cast

• Series 01:
  • Yoram Toledano as Nimrod Klein, a prisoner of war, and a brave, witty and intelligent man. He has difficulty readjusting to life with his wife and two children.
    • Yael Abecassis as Talia Klein, Nimrod’s wife. She campaigned tirelessly for her husband’s release. Since his return, she has trouble relating to him, and she finds that her life no longer has a clear purpose.
    • Yael Eitan as Dana, Nimrod’s rebellious daughter, who was two years old when her father was captured.
    • Guy Selnik as Hatzav, Nimrod’s teenage son, who was born after his father was taken captive.
  • Ishai Golan as Uri Zach, a shy and timid prisoner of war. He is very close to Nimrod. During Uri’s captivity, his fiancée married his brother, and they had a son.
    • Mili Avital as Nurit Halevi-Zach, Uri’s former fiancée. After mourning Uri’s capture and becoming convinced that he was dead, she eventually grew close to and married his brother Yaki. She feels intense guilt after Uri’s return.
    • Mickey Leon as Yaakov “Yaki” Zach, Uri’s brother and Nurit’s husband. He is concerned about the effect Uri’s return might have on his marriage.
    • Adam Kenneth as Asaf, son of Yaki and Nurit.
    • Shmuel Shilo as Joseph “Yoske” Zach, Uri and Yaki’s elderly father and a widower.
  • Assi Cohen as Amiel Ben-Horin, a prisoner of war believed to have been killed during his captivity under mysterious circumstances.
    • Adi Ezroni as Yael Ben-Horin, Amiel’s younger sister. She finds it impossible to deal with his death, and she begins to see him in visions.
  • Nevo Kimchi as Ilan Feldman, an IDF liaison to the families of killed, captured and injured soldiers.
  • Gal Zaid as Haim Cohen, an IDF psychologist. He leads the investigation of Nimrod and Uri, convinced that they are hiding something.
  • Sendi Bar as Iris, an IDF operative working with Haim.
  • Aki Avni as Ofer, owner of an advertising agency and a friend of Nimrod who served with him in the IDF.
  • Dalik Volonitz as Dr Shmuel Ostrovsky, Dana’s therapist.
  • Doron Amit as Ehud, son of Dr Ostrovsky.
  • Salim Dau as Jamal Agrabiya, leader of the cell that captured and imprisoned Nimrod, Uri and Amiel.
  • Abdallah El Akal as young Ismail, son of Jamal.
  • Said Dasuki as teenage Ismail.

• Series 02 (Additional Characters):
  • Hadar Ratzon-Rotem as Leila, wife of Yusuf (Amiel).
  • Makram Khoury as Sheikh Qasab, father of Leila, and founder of the organisation responsible for the kidnapping of Nimrod, Uri and Amiel.
  • Yousef Sweid as Abdullah bin Rashid, serving a prison sentence in Israel for a terrorist attack but released as part of the prisoner exchange that freed Nimrod and Uri.
  • Yonatan Uziel as Yinon “Noni” Meiri, whose father was murdered by Abdullah when Noni was a child.
  • Shimon Mimran as Dr Ze’ev Kaplan, an IDF psychologist.
  • Sinai Peter [he] as Atar Shorer, a former Mossad chief who was killed in an accident around the time of Nimrod and Uri’s release.
  • Boaz Konforty as Oren, a friend of Nimrod and a member of Nimrod and Uri’s reserve unit.

Trivia

• Filming commenced on the first season of Hatufim in August 2009.
• First season episodes had a budget of $200,000 each.
• At the time of broadcast, the first season of Hatufim was Israel’s highest-rated TV drama of all time.
• In 2010 it won the Israeli Academy Award for Television for Best Drama Series.
• The second season of Hatufim was filmed between May and October 2011.
• It was originally due to be broadcast in Israel from December 2011 but the premiere was put back to June 2012, and then October 2012 due to the state of the local advertising market.
• Viewing figures for the second season of Hatufim were even higher than for the first.
• In 2013, Raff stated that a third season was planned, but restated in 2015 that a third season did not look likely.

Prisoners of War Series

• Series 01 (2010).
• Series 02 (2012).

Production & Filming Details

• Creator(s): Gideon Raff.
• Director(s): Gideon Raff.
• Producer(s): Gideon Raff and Liat Benasuly.
• Writer(s): Gideon Raff.
• Music:
• Cinematography: Itai Ne’Eman.
• Editor(s):
• Production: Keshet Media Group.
• Original Network: Channel 2.
• Release Date: 06 March 2010 to 25 December 2012.
• Running Time: 45-60 minutes.
• Country: Israel.
• Language: Hebrew and Arabic.