Step into the world of Charedi hipsters in ‘The New Black’

(The New Black. L-R: Ori Laizerouvich (Gedaliah), Israel Atias (Meir), Daniel Gad (Avinoam), Omer Perelman Striks (Dov). Credit: Courtesy ChaiFlicks/Itiel Zion)

Eliran Malka describes his popular half-hour Israeli TV series “The New Black” as “ ‘Entourage’ at the yeshiva.” Malka’s show is set in the ultra-Orthodox world, while HBO’s “Entourage” was about a movie star and his posse.

Malka, 41, recently spoke with SoCal Jewish News via Zoom from his home in Jerusalem about the success of the show. Wearing a kippah during the interview, he explained that he grew up in an observant (but not ultra-Orthodox) family in Nahariya, in the far north of Israel. He met his wife in the religious Zionist youth group Bnei Akiva, and continues to practice an observant lifestyle with her and their six children.

His idea for what would become “The New Black” took root when he moved to Jerusalem 15 years ago. He said he was startled to meet Charedi hipsters who were vaping in trendy cafes and who “went to the gym because they wanted to look good. It was very eye-opening for me because, like many Israelis, I had looked at the ultra-Orthodox as people who were ‘the other.’ And yet, I discovered that they are more like us than you’d think. The show was a means to share with people that there is this whole other world that we don’t know about.”

Eliran Malka. Credit: Jonathan Bloom

The characters in “The New Black” include Avinoam, the privileged son of a Knesset member who is charismatic yet manipulative, and infatuated with a secular waitress;  Dov, a cynical sharp-tongued man with a penchant for conflict who hails from a wealthy American family; Meir, from a poor Sephardic family who is spurned by the community’s matchmakers; and Gedaliah, the socially inept outsider.

“The New Black” became an instant hit when it first aired on Israel’s HOT network in 2017, surpassing even “Game of Thrones” in popularity and garnering four Israeli Television Awards, including best comedy series and best comedy script. An equally popular second season recently finished airing in Israel and a third season is in the works. Now the first season is available with English subtitles on ChaiFlicks, the Jewish-themed streaming service. The show, like “Shtisel” and “Unorthodox,” is the latest Israeli series spotlighting Charedim that seek a wider audience.

I had looked at the ultra-Orthodox as people who were ‘the other.’ And yet, I discovered that they are more like us than you’d think. The show was a means to share with people that there is this whole other world that we don’t know about. — Eliran Malka

In Israel, the show is titled “Shababnikim” — slang for young religious men who stray a bit from the path while remaining ultra-Orthodox. The characters are  troublemakers and pranksters. When the head of the yeshiva cuts off the hot water to punish students for falling asleep in class, Avinoam and his posse insolently sneak off to bathe in the mikveh. And when Gedaliah and Meir burn down a billboard depicting a scantily-clad woman, police pay a visit to the school.

“The New Black” also subtly explores the community’s rigid caste system, particularly when it comes to seeking a wife. One slick matchmaker declines Meir as a client because his family is too low-class. “It’s a marketing issue,” he says.

Malka found that he related to some of his characters’ experiences as well. “I also am religious, and I live in some inner conflict between the religious and the secular worlds,” he said.

He began writing the show about 12 years ago with his co-creator and producer, Israeli TV veteran Daniel Paran, who died in 2018. “Over five years, I tried to sell it to a network,” Malka said. “But nobody wanted it because it didn’t fall into the definition of how the ultra-Orthodox are perceived in [popular culture].”

Unlike some other shows featuring Charedi protagonists, “these guys have a very different conflict,” Malka said. “They want to stay ultra-Orthodox and they want to learn, but part of their souls are invested in the world that is outside the yeshiva.”

Ori Laizerouvich, 34, who won an award for playing Gedaliah, snagged the role after Malka auditioned more than 150 actors. Malka said he was impressed by Laizerouvich’s understanding of the character. He also had admired Laizerouvich’s performance in the hit HOT show “Zaguri.”

Laizerouvich, who grew up in a not-so-religious home in a suburb of Tel Aviv, said he was immediately drawn to playing Gedaliah. When he first read the script, he “had the chills and was very obsessed,” he told SoCal Jewish News in the same Zoom interview. “I saw that most of the other actors [auditioning] were interpreting Gedaliah only as very miserable and very geeky. I thought, ‘No. This guy has a lot of passion and fire. He’s very emotional on the inside but he just hides it.’ But I saw his soul.”

Malka said that even members of the ultra-Orthodox community have embraced the show, saying he heard that yeshiva study halls used to empty out on Monday nights when the show aired.

Will worldwide audiences embrace the series?

“I’ve thought about that,” Laizerouvich said. “When I saw ‘The Book of Mormon,’ I didn’t know anything about Mormons, [yet] somehow it worked.”

 Season 1 of “The New Black” is currently streaming on ChaiFlicks