Fox Entertainment Studios is developing its first scripted series about the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, telling the true story that emerged from a dark day in the country’s history.
Premiering this October, the four-part anthology series “One Day in October” revolves around four gritty, unflinching stories of love, courage, survival and loss. Each story – from parental sacrifice and moments of joy turning to agony to rays of hope in the midst of chaos – reveals profound truths about the senseless carnage of Hamas attacks, the visceral emotions they unleashed, and the perseverance and pure heroism it took for the victims to survive as the world fell apart around them.
“One Day in October is one of the most powerful projects I’ve ever seen and one of the most powerful projects I’ve been involved with,” FOX Entertainment Studios head Fernando Szeu said in a statement Monday. “It’s a beautifully filmed yet heartbreaking story of people doing the best they can in the most horrific and unimaginable circumstances. The survivors portrayed in this series allow incredible talent both in front of and behind the camera to express their horrific experiences, and audiences will ultimately feel a deep love for their lives.”
Produced by Daniel Finkelman and directed by Oded Davidoff, “One Day in October” is currently filming in Israel.
The series stars Swell Ariel Orr (The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem), Noa Kedar (The Wicked Bride), Naomi Levov (Jonah, On the Spectrum), Hisham Suleiman (Fauda, Munich), Wael Hamdoun (Fauda), Yuval Semo (Elisha, Superdaddy), Avi Azoulay (Testament: The Story of Moses), Naveh Tzur (Valley, Noble Savage) and Yael Abecassis (Shabbat Behagim, Prisoners of War).
The four hour-long episodes are written by Davidoff (The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem, The Malevolent Bride), Liron Ben-Shrash (Next to Her, Working Woman), Adam G. Simon (Point Blank, Man Down) and Amir Hasfari & Keren Weissman (Mama’s Angel).
“Our goal with this series is to capture and tell the story of a picturesque kibbutz and musical festival that suddenly crumbled into an incomprehensible nightmare,” Finkleman said. “Thanks to the unwavering support of Fernando, Hannah and Tideline, I think we were able to achieve that vision and produce this four-part series from start to finish in under a year, which is almost unheard of for any production. But it was essential to us that we get these stories out there soon – too soon is never too late.”
The series is produced by Fox’s Tideline production company in association with Yes TV, New York-based production company Sparks.Go and Israel’s ZOA Films. Finkelman (Menashe, The Performance), Chaya Amor (The Performance), Aviv Ben-Shrash (Matchmaking, Shtisel) and Lee Cooperman Ben-Shrash (Road 65, Nafas) serve as producers.
Deadline was first to report the news.