British actor Hugh Laurie plays new role in 3rd season of Israeli drama series 'Tehran'
The fictional show becomes more relevant than ever with dramatic developments in the Middle East
Hugh Laurie, the British actor who began his career in comedy before transitioning to more serious roles, is now portraying Eric Peterson, a nuclear supervisor, in the Israeli drama "Tehran."
The show follows Tamar Rabinyan, a female Mossad agent sent on a mission to Tehran, the capital of Iran and her birthplace, where she works undercover as a computer hacker. Similar to “Fauda” on Netflix, "Tehran" portrays potentially realistic scenarios faced by Israel’s security services.
The third season of the series was delayed due to Israel's ongoing war with terror groups on multiple fronts, ironically backed by the Iranian regime in Tehran. With Israel engaging in conflict for over a year with Hamas terrorists in Gaza, Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon, and other Iranian-backed proxies, the third season was supposed to be released in May but temporarily put on hold.
With a ceasefire now in place with Hezbollah and the success of Israel’s military campaign against Iran, demonstrated by the swift overthrow of Assad, the situation in Israel seems to be easing somewhat.
A buoyant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, “The Assad regime is a central link in Iran’s axis of evil, and this regime has fallen.”
“This is a direct result of the blows we delivered to Iran and Hezbollah, the primary supporters of Assad's regime,” the Israeli leader stated.
While Israel has dealt severe blows to Iran, weakening the regime considerably, the threat of a nuclear attack still looms. The fictional show “Tehran” is more relevant than ever.
Moshe Zonder, Dana Eden and Maor Cohen, who created the award-winning series, have said that the third season “will continue to deal with the core, general issues of the Israeli-Iranian conflict and the personal conflicts of protagonist Tamar Rabinyan,” according to The Times of Israel.
Rabinyan, played by Niv Sultan, is sent to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities but her mission fails and she finds herself trapped and alone in Tehran, hiding from both the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as the Mossad international security agency. In order to survive, she must regain the support of the Mossad.
Alongside Rabinyan is Nissan, portrayed by Israeli actor Sasson Gabbay, a seasoned agent who has been with the Mossad agency for 40 years. An Australian actor of Iranian heritage, Phoenix Raei, plays Ramin Gamsy, a young businessman who is not all he seems.
The cast will be joined by Oxford-educated Hugh Laurie, who has become well known for his role as the irascible but brilliant doctor in the medical drama, “House M.D.”
He previously starred in British comedy shows including “Jeeves and Wooster” and “Blackadder.”
Jo Elizabeth has a great interest in politics and cultural developments, studying Social Policy for her first degree and gaining a Masters in Jewish Philosophy from Haifa University, but she loves to write about the Bible and its primary subject, the God of Israel. As a writer, Jo spends her time between the UK and Jerusalem, Israel.