The latest

Fauda’s fifth season surged across Netflix charts in the Middle East reaching No. 1 in Lebanon and top-five positions in Jordan, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Egypt and Morocco after its September 8 international release. The performance brought an Israeli drama centered on Israeli and Palestinian characters to large Arab audiences as its latest installment directly addressed the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel and the violence’s aftermath.

Details

• Regional rankings: FlixPatrol ranked the season No. 2 in Jordan, the UAE and Bahrain; No. 3 in Qatar, Oman and Kuwait; No. 4 in Egypt; No. 5 in Morocco; and No. 9 in Saudi Arabia. Lebanon was the only listed market where it held first place.
• Global performance: On the same date, the fifth season ranked fourth among Netflix television series worldwide. It stood sixth globally at the time of publication, extending its audience well beyond the Middle East.
• Dramatized attack: Episodes seven and eight recreate the October 7 attack and its consequences, making the installment more emotionally charged than earlier seasons. Both episodes received 9.3 ratings on IMDb. Viewers across Europe, Asia and the United States called them disturbing, painful and unusually realistic.
• Viewer perspective: Some viewers said the episodes offered a new perspective on events they had previously encountered mainly through news reporting and social media, underscoring the drama’s role in shaping discussion beyond conventional coverage.
• Lebanon controversy: Lebanon’s ranking was especially striking because the country’s boycott legislation prohibits dealing with Israeli entities. Campaigns had previously criticized Netflix for carrying Israeli productions including Fauda, yet the new season reached the platform’s top position among Lebanese viewers.
• Critical response: The reception was not uniformly positive. Arab media and social media users criticized the show and pointed to cast members’ participation in Israel’s war effort. That response made the season both a television event and a subject of political argument.
• Creators’ purpose: Co-creators Avi Issacharoff and Lior Raz presented the season as more than a recreation of October 7. Issacharoff said it examines the consequences of revenge and asks whether continuing a cycle of bloodshed can ultimately achieve anything.

Background

Fauda has built an international following despite political sensitivities surrounding Israeli content in parts of the region, including in countries where political tensions with Israel remain high. Its latest rankings place a fictionalized Israeli perspective before Arab viewers while the events it depicts remain intensely contested.

What’s next

Rankings after September 10 will show whether the season retains its leading positions as regional audiences reach episodes seven and eight.