When it was released two years ago, the TV series ‘Tehran‘ brought an element of novelty in the genre of espionage series. It was the first Israeli series to focus on the Israeli secret service (the famous Mossad, of course) war with the Islamic regime, locating most of the action in the Iranian capital. Of course, the filming could not take place on location so Greece was distributed in the role of Tehran. The series was appreciated by viewers and critics alike, both for the action parts, the romantic drama (with a beautiful Mossad agent played by Niv Sultan) and for the authenticity (appreciated by many, criticized by others) with which it renders the social environment and everyday life in Iran. It also won an international Emmy Award for drama series. Apple TV appreciated the series, bought for distribution the first season and became a producer for the second, whose first screening just ended on Channel One of Israeli television.
The second season will likely be enjoyed by those who appreciated ‘Tehran‘ in its first season as an espionage series. The story, now focused on the attempts to eliminate one of the Revolutionary Guard leaders, is highly paced. The lead characters on both sides of the dispute are well drawn. The romantic relationship that started in the first season continues now and plays an important role in the plot. With more generous financing, the show’s makers were able not only to recreate the social environment in more precise and lavish detail (part of the action takes place in the villas of the Iranian high class) but also to hire the services of an actress like Glenn Close who plays the role of the local resident spy who is supporting agent Tamar Rabynian, who is still stuck in Iran. On the other side of the barricade we can findagain the excellent actor of Iranian origin Shaun Toub in a role whose evolution during the episodes of the season is more than interesting.
I cannot judge to what extent the rendition of life in today’s Tehran is true to real life. Terms of comparison would exist, because Iranian cinema offers us aspects filmed there, but we must keep in mind that Iranian films are made under the control of a totalitarian censorship. There is probably an element of propaganda involved in the show as well, so I would not give documentary value to all that we see in the series. But they seem credible enough to me for an action movie. What I think has been lost from season to season is the Israeli side of the story. Part of the drama in the first season took place right at the Mossad headquarters, and the reasons for the involvement of the Israeli agent, whose family was Iran-born, were clear and important. These are lost in this second season, and ‘Tehran‘ becomes an espionage series that could be British or American just as well. A good series, of course, that will please fans of the genre, and that’s no small achievement. The season finale is open again and may be a starting point for a third season, but that depends upon season 2’s international career and possible new Emmy Awards. The toughest competitors are, in fact, the headline news, because the secret wars related to Iran are not only the ones broadcast in TV series.