以色列成为美剧的创意中心

Israeli television’s global success story began about a decade ago with the psychotherapy drama “BeTipul,” which was adapted by HBO as “In Treatment” and has since been turned into local spinoffs in more than 20 countries including, most recently, Argentina (“En Terepia”).

以色列电视剧在全球的成功大约始于十年前的心理治疗电视剧《治疗》(BeTipul)，它后来被HBO频道改编成《扪心问诊》(In Treatment)，在20多个国家被演绎成各种地方版本，包括最近的阿根廷电视剧《治疗》(En Terepia)。

“In Treatment” was followed by thrillers like “Hatufim,” which Showtime made into “Homeland,” and innovative game shows like “HaKokhav HaBa” (“Rising Star”), which has been adapted in 25 territories including China (CCTV), the United States (ABC) and Turkey (TV8).

《扪心问诊》之后出现了《战俘》(Hatufim)这样的惊悚剧，映时频道把它改编成了《国土安全》(Homeland)；还有《明日之星》(Rising Star)这种创新的竞赛真人秀，它在25个国家和地区被改编，包括中国（中央电视台）、美国（ABC频道）和土耳其（8台）。

The international demand for more shows has given rise to a cottage industry in Israel dedicated to creating television concepts for export. While many of these series are based on Israeli programs, others are dreamed up as so-called “paper formats” to be sold abroad. Three Israeli companies dominate the business — Keshet, Dori Media and Armoza Formats — and together they have sold over 100 shows to markets as diverse as Indonesia, Japan, Finland and Brazil.

国际上对更多节目的需求促使以色列出现了一个致力于创作出口电视节目的行业。虽然其中很多电视剧是以色列电视节目为基础的，但也有一些被设计成所谓的“纸质形式”，向国外出售。三个以色列公司主导了这个行业，分别是科舍公司(Keshet)、多里媒体公司(Dori Media)和阿玛扎形式公司(Armoza Formats)。它们一共向各国卖出了100多个节目，包括印度尼西亚、日本、芬兰和巴西等。

Business continues to boom. This season, Keshet — the company that developed the format for “Homeland” — has six new series coming to American channels. They run the gamut from “Dig,” an archeological mystery set in Jerusalem and created for USA Network, to the TBS sitcom “Your Family or Mine,” starring Richard Dreyfuss. That show is based loosely on an Israeli series, “Savri Maranan,” which takes place during Shabbat dinners in the home of a “mixed” Jewish family — the wife’s side is Sephardic (of Middle Eastern extractions) and the husband’s is Ashkenazi (of European). The series also inspired a popular show on Alpha TV in Greece, “To Sy sou” (“Your Kin”), where the Shabbat dinner becomes a typical Greek Sunday lunch.

这个行业继续蓬勃发展。这一季，曾改编《国土安全》的科舍公司将有六部新电视剧登陆美国电视台。这些节目多姿多彩，既有为美国电视网创作的以耶路撒冷为背景的考古悬疑剧《千古挖掘》(Dig)，也有为TBS频道创作的情景喜剧《你家还是我家》(Your Family or Mine)，主演是理查德·德雷福斯(Richard Dreyfuss)。该剧大体上是根据以色列电视剧《Savri Maranan》改编的，故事发生在一个“混合”犹太家庭的安息日晚宴上。妻子是西班牙系犹太人（有中东血统），丈夫是德系犹太人（有欧洲血统）。希腊阿尔法电视台(Alpha TV)的热门电视剧《你的家族》(Your Kin)就是以这部电视剧为灵感的。只不过，安息日晚宴改成了典型的希腊周日午宴。

Much of the challenge with this type of television production is adapting a format so that it remains relevant across diverse markets and cultures. Take the case of “Hatufim” (Prisoners of War), about the homecoming of three Israeli soldiers captured years before in Lebanon. In “Homeland,” the American version now on Showtime, the series gets a glossier treatment and a female lead (Claire Danes, who plays a bipolar C.I.A. agent). In the still-untitled Spanish language version — now in production by Televisa in Mexico — this prime-time drama becomes a daytime telenovela. “It’s the same arc, the same narrative DNA, but developed differently based on the market needs and geopolitical connotations,” said Alon Shtruzman, the chief executive of Keshet International.

这种电视制作的主要挑战在于改编后的版本需要在不同的市场和文化中都有意义。以《战俘》为例，该剧讲述的是多年前被囚禁在黎巴嫩的三个以色列士兵归国的故事。该剧的美国版本是映时频道的《国土安全》，它更有趣，以一个女性角色为主要人物（一名患有躁郁症的中央情报局探员）。尚未命名的西班牙语版本正由墨西哥的Televisa公司制作，它不再是黄金时段电视剧，而是日间剧。“同样的故事线索，同样的叙述方法，但是根据市场需求和地缘政治内涵进行了不同的改编，”科舍公司的首席执行官阿隆·舒兹曼(Alon Shtruzman)说。

The companies’ success in making Israel a kind of global entrepôt for creative TV has prompted producers in other countries to look for Israeli partners to package their shows for international markets.

这些公司成功地把以色列变成了全球电视剧的创意源头，促使其他国家的制作人们在以色列寻找合作伙伴，帮他们把自己的电视剧进行改编，推向国际市场。

Dori Media — which was founded by Yair Dori, an Argentine-Israeli executive and which got its start packaging Spanish telenovelas like “Lalola” for the international market — specializes in exactly this kind of business, recently adapting a long-running Japanese game show, Nippon Television Network’s “Aha Experience!,” into a global hit. The company recently announced a major deal with Sony Pictures Television to invest in its channels in Israel.

多里媒体公司是阿根廷-以色列制作人亚伊尔·多里(Yair Dori)创立的，他通过向国际市场提供改编的西班牙肥皂剧起家，比如《拉劳拉》(Lalola)。他擅长的正是这种生意，最近正在改编日本的一个长盛不衰的竞赛真人秀——日本电视网的《啊哈，体验!》(Aha Experience!)，旨在把它变成一个全球热门节目。该公司最近宣布了与索尼影业电视剧分部的一项重要协议，后者将投资于该公司在以色列的几家电视台。