HaMidrasha (2015–2018) User Reviews

Well written, filmed and acted . . well worth your time

[tarahj-83579 · 8/10 · 1 December 2016]

Interesting set of characters. I love that there is at least 1 person much older than the rest. Mostly in Hebrew subtitles, (I'm an English based viewer). Some things said in English, occasional dialog).

Great juxtaposition of people doing well and occasionally flubbing instructions. Lots of nuances into the main character's backgrounds--which keeps you watching. One criticism, the American brothers seemed too juvenile--almost cartoonish. Why would the government even bother with people like these.

I'm not well versed in the spy business, but I did expect Mossad to be harder on the trainees. Maybe that's the mystique. Still very riveting and interesting. Looking forward to more episodes.

A solid series, Season 2 is worth the wait and much better!

[patrickbarks · 8/10 · 7 February 2021]

I started watching this after watching other Israeli shows such as Fauda and Tehran. Upon watching the first season, I did find it a little corny and humorous, but still enjoyed it non the less. The second season, as someone else also mentioned is totally different, and in turn the entire ambience, style of writing, realism is totally different. It's much more realistic, gritty and mature. It's really important that you watch the first season in order to understand the characters of season 2, but when you do get to season 2, you'll be very glad that you persisted through the lesser superior season 1.

Mossad 101

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 29 December 2021]

In the first season of this Israeli drama we see a group of recruits being put through their paces as they vie to join the Mossad, the Israeli Intelligence Agency. They must pass a succession of tests; any failure, for whatever reason, will lead to that trainee being immediately dropped. The recruits are a mixed group; one is an expert on reading people's body language; two American brothers; and another is hoping that by joining she will learn how her husband died while on a Mossad operation overseas; the rest are similarly varied. The course is led by Yona Harari; an experienced agent who doesn't appear to be too bothered by rules; unlike his ex-wife who is the Psychologist monitoring the course.

The second season sees Yona with another group of trainees; officially they are taking part in a training exercise on Kiev, in reality Yona is running an unofficial operation that will see them dealing with a group of Israeli criminals and facing ISIS terrorists who would like nothing more than killing a group of Israelis; especially Mossad agents.

If you are looking for something gritty like 'Fauda' you may be disappointed. This does have its thrilling moments but there isn't the consistent level of extremely high tension... and deliberately so. There are comic moments; some action, even deaths of main characters; and quite a lot of character led drama; notably between Yona and ex-wife Avigail. The two seasons have a very different feel; the first is all about their training programme and seeing who will get eliminated while the second is about one specific mission. In both questions are raised about the motives of characters who should be trusted. The characters are a good mix and the way they are introduced means that by the time dangers arise we care about what happens to them. The cast is solid making the characters believable even in some of the more unlikely situations. I don't imagine many viewers will believe this gives a realistic insight into the Mossad; it clearly doesn't intend to be; it is a lot of fun though. Overall I'd recommend this viewers looking for a somewhat lighter spy series; if we get a third season I'd continue to watch.

These comments are based on watching the series in Hebrew with English subtitles.

Low Rating is Misleading

[Metalsquirrel · 9/10 · 18 February 2019]

I do not know why the rating is so low for this series. Overall it is very easy to get lost in and very entertaining. Maybe it is because you have to follow along with the subtitles for the most part or maybe it is because some people do not get the combination of grittiness and dark humor. Either way, if you are a fan of intrigue you should not sleep on this one-it is very good.

Corny but watchable

[jake-h-morson · 7/10 · 8 July 2018]

As far as Israeli shows not named Fauda, this one is pretty good. However, this show about the world's most daring spy organization is essentially a soap opera more so than anything resembling an action show. An enjoyable show if you look past the sheer improbability of many, many details

Gets better and better

[admin-802 · 10/10 · 29 December 2019]

The first season was pretty good but a bit silly at times. The second season the show completely switched to a new format (or lack of it) and it's much better, more mature and gripping. Like a very good movie. Gotta hand it to the creators for not standing still and repeating the formula of the first season, that takes guts. Truly entertaining with high suspense from the first second till the satisfying last. Excellent writing and performing. Israeli TV is usually very good and this show now bubbles to the top. Waiting eagerly to season 3.

Pro Mossad and Anti Arab sentiments

[ne-nazarian · 6/10 · 10 January 2022]

I generally enjoyed season 1 (the story line is pretty captivating) but I can't get past the whole pro-Mossad advertisement of the show. The worst was the ending: psychopathic Jewish Mossad agent who has been teaching trainees to lie, cheat, kill, and fraud is portrayed as a true hero while the Palestinian agent who is killed without any trial or proof of his wrongdoing is the devil. Give me a break, FFS.

I know that Mossad's recruitment is quite low and a lot of these shows are to amp up the reputation of the organization, but this felt quite cheap on the cliché.

Superb Spy-Training Mini-Series, for Israeli Intelligence Services..

[canuckteach · 10/10 · 26 November 2016]

Hard-hitting, uncompromising, (sometimes) cold-hearted, pragmatic.. And this is a dramatic series, remember -- not a docu-drama.

The Israelis have the best intelligence service (Mossad) on the planet - we all know that. But, how do you get into it? Well, this series shows you what the new recruits have to go through: you might have to evade the local police who are unwittingly firing at government trainees with live ammo; you might have to spy on your classmates whilst the class carries out a routine surveillance on Mr & Mrs Nobody (selected randomly from the phone book); you might have to initiate an affair with your child's teacher, who is particularly vulnerable at the moment -- all this to score points with Mossad's higher echelon, just to prove {you got what it takes}. Mossad has cameras and bugs planted everywhere, too, to watch, just in case you try to fake the success. It's a bit mind-boggling.

But, for those of you who watched Russia House, or MI-5, this is the familiar 'weary load' of those who want to break into the Intelligence Business. Betrayal, heartbreak, cold-hearted 'cuts' from the team - it's a little like an NFL training camp. Superbly-acted and written, as good as any comparable British series I have ever seen. Season-1 on Netflix now (hopefully, Season-2 will follow soon).

Downright silly

[wxmanj · 2/10 · 24 July 2018]

Is this supposed to be a comedy. It's not dramatic or funny so it's hard to tell.

Superb Israeli spy series...

[thegulls1 · 10/10 · 16 July 2018]

I watched Season 1 on Netflix and was hooked from the word 'go'. These would-be candidates for Mossad get sent out into perilous 'training' situations-and they either sink or swim. Soon, it appears that Yoni, the headmaster, has his own shadowy agenda, as the recruits drop out one by one. At the end of Season 1, Yona has proven that he is a force to be reckoned with, but may be lacking in integrity.

Season 2 opens in the Ukraine with 3 eager new Mossad recruits being led by the indomitable Yona. They're not sure what he's up to, and neither are his bosses. Two former Mossad agents, on the run with some purloined cash, get wasted by a mysterious assassin. The pretty 'Abi', Yoni's nominal supervisor, shows up to rein him in-unsuccessfully, I might add. Soon, she falls into danger from the local gang of Arabs operating on Ukraine soil. Betrayals from above & the ranks emerge also, placing the Mossad group in grave danger.

This series is the AV equivalent of a great page-turning whodunit that you can't put down, even when your wife commands you to get busy & cut the lawn. So, cook the popcorn, crack open a case of your favourite beverage, put your feet up and savour this masterpiece.

Fun Show

[yepstein · 8/10 · 25 November 2017]

I usually really dislike Israeli cinema, because for some reason most of it involves really shitty lighting. But I guess they started investing in good writers and equipment when it comes to Israeli cinema. I just finished watching the first season of Mossad 101 (on NETFLIX), and I am pleasantly surprised.

Not only have they done a show that would not embarrass a Hollywood studio, they managed to make a flawless show. Sure, there a couple of clichés, but in the most part it's a very well made story, in which all characters are well rounded, the jokes aren't stupid, the action has purpose, and looks real, and the vibe of the show is serious, despite the fact of it being a secret agency type show.

8\10 for me.

Spoiler (kinda) Abigail is a f***ing bada$$, and Yehuda Levi understood exactly how to play Jonah.

An oddly captivating series

[BeneCumb · 8/10 · 12 February 2020]

From time to time, I try to widen my horizons apart from UK and Scandinavian crime/thriller series, and have come across several good Israeli ones as well... The Season 1 of HaMidrasha, began to my liking, but then I realised that the trainees are not sent to their separate real assignments and I even thought of breaking off (very unusual for me); but then, the relationships and parallel stories became interesting, and the final episode became a nicely creamy mess, paving the way for Season 2 which was more versatile and interesting... Well, I am unable to judge the credibility of the events and relations, but as Mossad is of the most efficient secret services in the world, it may well so that the principle "The end justifies the means" is used very often.

The role and depiction of characters, however, is rather uneven, and many members of course are not so memorable. To me, the most interesting were Yehuda Levi as Yonna, Hana Laszlo as Doris Levi, Tzachi Halevy as Liron Hariri - apart from distinct performances, the viewers obtain a picture of their past as well, and they tend to offer most twists in the plot.

All in all, I liked it - Season 2 a bit more than 1 - almost equal to Bnei aruba and Fauda.

Entertainment +

[ssr-864-119146 · 10/10 · 28 August 2018]

Wonderfully entertaining, plus thrills. Unrealistic, sure, but the acting, action, surprises, and split second changes in situation make it thrilling, and the characterization is great. Wish it went on for more than two seasons!

A hidden gem. Fast-paced, intriguing, full of surprises.

[altereggo123 · 9/10 · 20 October 2022]

I watched this show just as it was leaving Netflix. I don't know why they are dropping it, but I hope it's just a legal issue, because on the merits it's an outstanding series, much better than many over-hyped thrillers currently streaming.

The premise of Season 1 is that an eclectic group of applicants go through an insanely difficult Mossad training course. They range from young to old, gorgeous to frumpy, rich to poor. They learn to surveil, steal, seduce, kill, and achieve their objectives by almost any means. One applicant is kicked out of the course in each episode. The reasons for the elimination often involve an interesting twist, and what seems like a "success" is occasionally deemed a failure for surprising but ultimately logical reasons

In addition to the weekly challenges, there is an overarching mystery involving one of the applicants, who is trying to find out how and why her late husband, himself a Mossad agent, was killed. There are suspicions about the leader of the training exercise (brilliant but also reckless and a bit dodgy), his boss (a beautiful psychiatrist), and other Mossad agents.

Season 2 is a bit different. Instead of the weekly eliminations, we join the course with just a few applicants left. They are on a mission in Ukraine (scripted and filmed before the 2022 invasion!), and their instructor, Yona, is as enigmatic as ever. Very little is as it seems, and there are so many surprises and double-crosses that you made need to take notes, but it all does make sense and the ending ties up a lot of loose ends.

In both seasons, the episodes are tightly written and no longer than they need to be. (~45 minutes each) In season 1, they work well independently, less so in Season 2, but both seasons are also highly binge-able. Definitely worth watching before it leaves Netflix or wherever else it is carried.