As 'Srugim' ends, yarmulkes disappear from prime-time TV
After bringing the national-Orthodox sector into the mainstream media, Chava Divon and Laizy Shapira are quitting 'Srugim.' The end of an era?
No more Amir and Yifat, and what about Hodaya, Reut and Nati? The television drama "Srugim" is not being renewed for a fourth season.
The Yes satellite TV company has confirmed that "series creators (Chava Divon and Laizy Shapira) decided not to continue the series for a fourth season. We respect their decision to end the series on a high note."
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Divon and Shapira's decision is probably a disappointment to many viewers from a cross-section of Israeli society, to whom "Srugim" managed to bring the first portrayal of the "normal" observant population – people concerned with relationships, work, and friendship – rather than ultra-nationalists running around hilltops with teddy bears and Uzis.
"When we started out six years ago, we only meant to do three seasons, since most Israeli dramas play themselves out by then," Shapira told Ynet. "And in fact, after the successful conclusion of the third season I believe we need to go out on a high note, since we've already told everything that has to be told."
Shapira expressed concern that if the series were to continue, it would become "extremist, ridiculous, and uninteresting."
'Srugim' (Photo: Yossi Zwecker)
Divon said that not a week goes by that she doesn't receive requests to continue the series, with viewers urging her that there are many more stories to be told. "It shows how deeply we managed to touch (people)," she says.
"I couldn't imagine what was ahead of us, when we were first starting out to realize our dream and write 'real' religious people onto the screen. We didn't expect the level of internal discussion that would develop, or the interest from other sectors – including the secular and the haredim."
