The highly acclaimed miniseries "Unorthodox," starring Israeli actress Shira Haas, won the prestigious Peabody Award on Tuesday in recognition of the most "compelling and empowering stories released across broadcast and streaming media in 2020."

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"Unorthodox" is an American-German production that first aired on Netflix in March 2020. The story revolves around a young Jewish woman, Esty Shapiro (Haas), living in an ultra-Orthodox community in Brooklyn who flees her arranged marriage, escaping to Berlin only to be pursued by her husband and his thuggish cousin on order by their rabbi.

The miniseries was also nominated for eight Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including Outstanding Limited Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series (Haas), and Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series (Anna Winger), winning for Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series (Maria Schrader).

Haas was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her role as Esty.

The Peabody Board of Jurors who granted the award said in their description of the show: "A riveting thriller, the series takes a hard look at how a religious community enforces strict gender roles to maintain its identity no matter the human cost. With the raw and authentic Shira Haas as Esty, 'Unorthodox' merges a stark portrayal of religious oppression with a coming-of-age story that resonates with gritty, desperate innocence."

Other 2020 Peabody winners unveiled Monday included "76 Days" (documentary), which features patients and medical professionals battling the COVID-19 pandemic during its early days in Wuhan, China; "Ted Lasso" (entertainment), Stephen Colbert's "Late Show" (entertainment), and Amazon's Oscar-nominated "Time" (documentary).

Additional winners will be unveiled over the course of this week, with the presentations taking place from June 21-24 on social media (Twitter, Instagram and Facebook) and the Peabody Awards' website.

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CBS Studios is developing an American adaptation of the popular Netflix-distributed Israeli drama "Shtisel," the network announced this week.

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The American remake will be written by "Insatiable" creator and "Dexter" writer Lauren Gussis, and directed by Oscar-winner Kenneth Lonergan, reported Deadline.

The publication said the show is being described as a modern take on "Romeo and Juliet" and will center on an "ultra-progressive, over-achieving secular 18-year-old young woman on the verge of personal freedom, and the strictly observant Orthodox young man to whom she is powerfully drawn – so powerfully that she is willing to uproot her entire life to be with him."

The remake will reportedly be shopped around soon to potential buyers. Fremantle is the co-studio.

The "Shtisel" adaptation will be a TV directing debut for Lonergan, who has so far only directed features that he wrote himself. The "Manchester by the Sea" filmmaker was drawn to the storyline, and after many conversations with Gussis and several rabbis, joined the project, according to Deadline.

CBS Studios has recently amped up its investment in international local production, developing and producing new shows in Germany, Israel and the Netherlands.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org

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The mother-daughter drama "Asia" was named Best Picture at the Israeli Academy of Film and Television's Ophir Awards, automatically becoming Israel's entry in the Best International Feature category at the Oscars next spring.

"Unorthodox" Emmy nominee Shira Haas adds another accolade to her résumé with her win as Best Supporting Actress for the film, which won nine Ophirs, Best Actress (Alena Yiv) and Best Cinematography (Daniella Nowitz) among them.

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"Asia" tells the story of a Russian immigrant mother (Yiv) and her complex relationship with her ailing daughter (Haas).

"It's such an amazing script," Haas told the Jewish Journal earlier this year. "The daughter is sick, and it's their last time together. It's a depressing subject about death and grief, but it's more about life and their relationship. There's so much love and empathy in this movie."

It's the fifth Ophir nomination and second win for Haas, who won for "Pere Atzil" in 2018.

"Asia" had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival last spring, where Haas won the Best Actress Award. She is currently shooting the latest season of "Unorthodox," which will premiere on Netflix in 2021.

Another big Ophir Award winner was "Here We Are," a father-son road trip story that took honors for its two actors, Shai Avivi and Noam Inber; director Nir Bergman; and screenwriter Dada Idisis.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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The fashion magazine CR Fashion Book chose to run a feature on Haas in its October issue and ran a picture of her on its official Instagram page, which has over 1 million followers.

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One pro-Palestinian user objected.

"I didn't know that CR was Zionist," the user commented below the picture.

Another user pointed out that talent was "international" and knew no borders, "just like music." The same user asked the commenter to leave politics to the side.

However, the original poster, whose username is caseyj, insisted that Zionism was the "occupation of Palestine," which garnered a comment from a third user to "get out of here with your anti-Semitism."

Caseyj responded that voicing criticism of a government's policy was different from religious hatred, and pointed out that not all Zionists were Jews, and not all Jews are Zionists.

The thread heated up when Caseyj claimed to be Jewish but stated that she opposed not only Zionist but any form of supremacy or colonialism, even by the United States.

Another user backed up Caseyj, writing that Zionism meant supporting the killing of Palestinians.

Haas opted to repost the CR picture without addressing the controversy the original post had stirred up.

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The 25-year-old Haas won acclaim for her role as Esty, a young Haredi woman from Brooklyn who flees to Berlin to escape an unhappy arranged marriage and embraces a secular lifestyle there.

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The four-episode series was inspired by the 2012 memoir Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots, by Deborah Feldman.

Haas wrote on Instagram in response to her nomination: "Thank you for all the beautiful messages today. I'm still processing it and trying to find the right words. I am so happy and so lucky to have had the privilege of portraying this character and to be nominated for it. Thank you to everyone who took part in the show and made this happen. Thank you to everyone who shared their love. I feel it all. I'm truly grateful."

Unorthodox was nominated for eight Emmy awards including Outstanding Limited Series.

A video shared on Instagram by the actress showed her and Unorthodox co-star Amit Rahav, who plays the character Yanky Shapiro in the series, first receiving the news of their show's nomination. We think it's fair to say they were happy about it.

Video: Instagram

Haas was nominated in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or TV movie, alongside Cate Blanchett ("Mrs. America"), Regina King ("Watchmen"), Octavia Spencer ("Self Made"), and Kerry Washington ("Little Fires Everywhere").

"The fact that this show managed to touch so many people's hearts and to get to so many people, with the fact that 50 percent is in Yiddish, it just shows that it [transcends boundaries]," Haas told Entertainment Tonight after the nominations. "For example, when I read the script, I felt attached. It's a different culture and a very different person than me, and I still see myself in this character. And people, maybe they're getting tired of seeing only themselves. I think people want to see someone that looks different from them and still manage to see themselves."

Haas won the award for Best Actress at the Tribeca Film Festival in April for her role in the film Asia.

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Haas was photographed for the cover in Israel by an Israeli crew, including renowned fashion photographer Dudi Hasson, stylist Noa Renner and make-up artist Naor Apel, in conjunction with French fashion house Chanel.

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Prior to L'Officiel Paris, Haas appeared in Wonderland Magazine, in conjunction with American fashion house Marc Jacobs, and fashion magazine Vogue in April.

"Unorthodox" revolves around the life of an ultra-Orthodox Hasidic woman, Esty, who rebels against her community's strict prohibitions.

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Haas, 24, is the star of the Netflix hit Unorthodox, which revolves around the life of an ultra-Orthodox Hasidic woman, Esty, who rebels against her community's strict prohibitions.

The show's dialogues are mainly in Yiddish, but despite being focused on a lifestyle not known to many around in the world, including Jews, Unorthodox has been a remarkable success among viewers, who wanted to glean insights into the haredi world and understand their way of life.

Beanie Feldstein, who conducted the interview asked Haas, "What does it feel like to be a part of the new Netflix generation of shows?"

Haas provides the following answer:

"It is really amazing and it was a surprise. I can really feel the love. I always believed in the show and the role that I did, but, as you know, you can never tell what is going to happen with the thing that you are doing. I can't take it for granted that so many people all around the world – no matter what their religion is, not necessarily Jewish, or secular – connected to the show and to Esty. The fact that it is has touched so many people and that it is universal is such an amazing thing. It is everything you could ask for as an artist. The highest form of connecting is art. If you just heard about the show or a story about someone like Esty on the news, maybe some people would say, 'Oh, those people,' but once you see the show you're like, 'She is like me' – not only Esty but also different people as well."

Haas agreed that South Korean director, Bong Joon Ho, whose movie Parasite won Best Picture in the Oscars this year, got it right when he said that "if you can look past the subtitles, you can learn so much about so many different people."

According to Haas, "it is a new thing for many people. Maybe a few years ago maybe the show would have been done, but not in Yiddish, for example. There are now so many different TV series on Netflix in so many different languages and cultures. Over the past few years, people have become way more open to it and people want to see someone who is different from them and realize, 'Yes, it is a specific story, but I can relate to it,' or "He is different from me, but he is a human being and I understand." I think young people – at least I do want to see that and not necessarily themselves all the time."

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#UnorthodoxNetflix is everywhere now, and people are loving it and its star, Israeli actress @ShiraHaas. A universal story about someone discovering themselves, a tale about coming of age, the show has gained several fans, including Booksmart's @BeanieFeldstein (who has her own coming-of-age story on the way—How to Build a Girl, which will be released on May 8 by IFC Films). And Feldstein may be an actress, but she is also a star interviewer. At the link in our bio, the two discuss Haas's critically acclaimed portrayal in Unorthodox, from head shaving and learning Yiddish, to feeling like you belong.

A post shared by Vogue (@voguemagazine) on Apr 25, 2020 at 10:00am PDT

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