'In Treatment' wins Emmy
American version of Israeli show wins best supporting actress, best guest appearance honors. We faced some stiff competition, says show's creator
HBO's version of the Israeli hit show "B'Tipul" – "In Treatment" – was one of the shows to win an Emmy on Sunday, as Dianne Wiest was name outstanding supporting actress in a drama series and Glyn Turman won for his guest appearance in the show.
This is the first time that an American television show based on an Israeli format had ever won.
"In Treatment" was up for another award during Los Angeles' ceremony, as Gabriel Byrne, who plays Paul the therapist, was nominated for outstanding lead actor in a drama series. The Emmy in that category ended up in Breaking Bad Bryan Cranston's lap.
"This is really exciting" said Hagai Levi, the show's Israeli creator, on Monday. "Glyn did a great job and Dianne was excellent." Levy is currently in New York, working on the second season of In Treatment.
"Gabriel was up against some stiff competition, I thought that John Hamm from Mad Men would end up winning, it's an amazing show.
Hagi Levi (L) with Be'Tipul star, Assi Dayan (Photo: Niv Calderon)
"The nominations were very important, very surprising, much like the win," he added. "It's another plus for us. HBO green-lighted a second season six months ago. These wins are important to HBO since the winners of lead actor and actress were from different networks (American Movie Classics – AMC, and FX).
"There is a stiff competition between the different cable channels. Every day new, good shows pop up. HBO used to have the monopoly on good shows, but that is no longer the case."
As for the show's future, Levi said casting and filming are underway: "Filming starts in November and we are about to begin casting. I hope to make the second season more appealing to American audiences, meaning make it more complex and more appealing, to turn it from a remake to an original.
"I feel that the second season could be better than the first," he added. "The person who runs it this year, Warren Light, is a real pro. He was on 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' and he's actually a playwright. I think that the fact that we will be filming in New York is going to help the show, because this show is more of New York than Los Angeles".
As for Israel's Be'Tipul getting a third season, Levi said he was working on a different format for the show, which he hopes will take.
