Global Drama’s Golden Age: Why Television Must Dare to Surprise

Ron Leshem, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter and creator of the Israeli series that influenced HBO’s cultural phenomenon “Euphoria,” has stated that television is moving into a golden age of international storytelling. Addressing this year’s Canneseries festival, Leshem—whose credits feature “Valley of Tears,” “No Man’s Land” and “Bad Boy”—contended forcefully that independent creators and cross-border narratives hold the key to revitalising television drama. As streaming platforms increasingly retreat into domestically-oriented programming and broadcasters take conservative approaches, Leshem remains bullishly optimistic about the future, backed by his own slate of expansive global initiatives spanning Brazil, Australia, Europe and France. His belief comes at a critical moment when international drama risks being dismissed as little more than a cost-effective option or exotic niche rather than a artistic movement transforming the medium.

The Case for Bold, Boundary-Pushing Narrative Craft

Leshem’s central argument contests the prevailing risk-aversion in current television. Rather than falling back on formulaic comfort, he maintains that international storytelling offers something the industry desperately needs: real unpredictability. When networks and streaming services play it safe, commissioning only established formats and conventional stories, they forfeit the format’s core strength to captivate and provoke. Leshem believes this juncture demands the reverse strategy—creators must embrace the unfamiliar, explore new spaces, and believe in audiences to follow them into unfamiliar and unsettling ground. The original Israeli “Euphoria” exemplified this approach, delivering raw authenticity and local cultural character to a narrative that went beyond its origins to become a global phenomenon.

The economics of international production, Leshem stresses, actually liberate rather than constrain creative ambition. Whilst American television continually requires substantial financial investment to justify greenlight decisions, cross-border ventures can achieve equivalent production quality at significantly lower expense. This financial flexibility somewhat counterintuitively allows greater creative risk-taking. Creators operating in international settings don’t face the same market demands that force American networks toward formulaic narratives. Instead, they can invest in distinctive voices, non-traditional storytelling, and the kind of ambitious creative risk that ultimately produces the most impactful and culturally relevant programming.

• Global storytelling opens doors to new worlds, setups and dramatic trajectories
• Independent production companies can deliver premium content at considerably decreased costs
• International content attracts audiences weary of conventional TV
• Cultural specificity generates authenticity that transcends geographical boundaries

Breaking the Safe Model

The television industry’s present risk aversion represents a fundamental misreading of viewer demand. Streaming services and traditional broadcasters have become fixated with metrics and algorithmic predictability, leading to an endless parade of retreads and sequels. Yet audiences continue gravitating toward programmes that surprise them—narratives that feel truly transgressive, ethically nuanced, and culturally grounded. Global drama, by its inherent character, resists the homogenising impulse that dominates mainstream American television. When creators work across different cultural contexts and production ecosystems, they’re forced to think differently, to challenge conventions, to move past the well-worn paths that have calcified into industry convention.

Leshem’s personal production outfit, Crossing Oceans, reflects this approach through its intentionally global portfolio. From “Paranoia” in Brazil to “Revolution,” a France Télévisions collaboration with Iranian filmmakers, his works intentionally court artistic tension and cultural collision. These are not vanity productions designed to gather festival laurels; they’re strategic wagers that audiences worldwide hunger for stories that provoke, unsettle, and eventually reshape them. By embracing the unfamiliar rather than retreating from it, Leshem argues, television can reclaim its position as the platform where real creative risk still matters.

From Israeli Origins to Global Aspirations

Ron Leshem’s progression from Israeli television to global recognition exemplifies the profound impact of culturally grounded narratives. His initial projects in Israeli drama marked him as a recognisable storytelling force, willing to confront intricate ethical and cultural questions with uncompromising integrity. This foundation proved instrumental in shaping his subsequent methodology to global production. Rather than setting aside his cultural distinctiveness for expanded commercial viability, Leshem has consistently leveraged his Israeli perspective as a artistic resource, proving that profoundly rooted narratives possess global relevance. His trajectory demonstrates that the most engaging global content often emerges not from diminishing cultural specificity, but from doubling down on it.

The creation of Crossing Oceans, his creative enterprise based in Los Angeles but operating primarily across global markets, constitutes a intentional move away from Hollywood-centric production models. Working alongside long-standing partners Amit Cohen and Daniel Amsel, Leshem has developed a slate strategically created to emphasise creative authenticity over market-tested formulas. His current projects span Brazil, Australia, Europe, and France in partnership with Iranian filmmakers—a creative and geographical diversity that would have been inconceivable in conventional television structures. This worldwide reach represents far more than ambition; it’s a strategic assertion that the future of television drama lies in distributed production networks where regional expertise and international ambition intersect.

The Euphoria Trend

The groundbreaking Israeli series that inspired Sam Levinson’s HBO adaptation became a landmark cultural achievement, demonstrating conclusively that international drama could achieve unprecedented global commercial success. Leshem’s creation connected so deeply with audiences worldwide that it generated multiple international versions, each tailored to capture regional cultural nuances whilst maintaining the emotional depth and genuine emotional resonance of the original vision. This success significantly transformed market views about the commercial potential of international television. Studios and streaming services that had traditionally overlooked non-English language drama as specialised programming suddenly acknowledged the market potential of culturally specific storytelling executed with artistic integrity.

The HBO adaptation rise to the second most-watched series in the network’s history vindicated Leshem’s creative philosophy entirely. Rather than proving that international drama needed Americanisation to succeed, it demonstrated the opposite: audiences desired the psychological complexity and cultural specificity that the Israeli version captured. Levinson’s adaptation succeeded not by sanitising the source material but by respecting its fundamental boldness whilst rendering it for American sensibilities. This model—faithful reworking rather than wholesale reimagining—has become increasingly influential in how global drama is approached, motivating producers to seek original indigenous perspectives rather than imposing standardised templates.

• Original Israeli series spawned multiple international adaptations in various regions
• HBO adaptation became network’s second most-watched series in history
• Success demonstrated international drama could reach unparalleled commercial and critical acclaim

Building Global Networks: Creating Worldwide Production Operations

Leshem’s production company, Crossing Oceans, represents a carefully structured response to the fragmented nature of international TV production. Established in collaboration with CAA and based in Los Angeles, the company operates as a genuinely international enterprise rather than a Hollywood-focused venture that occasionally ventures abroad. Co-founded with long-standing creative partners Amit Cohen and Daniel Amsel, Crossing Oceans functions as a creative hub where creators with varied geographical and cultural perspectives converge to develop projects with truly international scope. This structure allows Leshem to maintain artistic control whilst drawing upon the unique production environments, local knowledge, and pools of creative talent that different territories provide, fundamentally challenging the notion that high-quality drama must originate from established entertainment hubs.

The company’s current portfolio demonstrates the extent of the international reach and the diversity of storytelling approaches it champions. Projects stretch across continents and cultures, from Brazilian psychological dramas to European co-productions and collaborations with Iranian filmmakers, each bringing distinct perspectives and production methodologies. Rather than imposing a standardised creative template across territories, Crossing Oceans operates as a facilitator of authentic local voices working in partnership with international ambition. This approach produces productions that demonstrate both cultural specificity and universal emotional resonance, proving that truly global drama emerges not from homogenisation but from celebrating distinctive creative visions whilst connecting them across borders.

Collaboration Across the Globe

Crossing Oceans’ global collaborations showcase how contemporary global drama succeeds through authentic artistic partnership rather than hierarchical production structures. The work alongside Iranian filmmakers on “Revolution” exemplifies this principle, bringing viewpoints and narrative approaches that traditional Western studios would commonly ignore. By treating these collaborations as equal creative voices rather than service providers, Leshem’s company produces projects strengthened by varied cultural insights and cultural approaches. This collaborative model challenges outdated assumptions about the source of quality television, proving that excellence arises when varied artistic perspectives collaborate authentically toward common creative goals.

The simultaneous development of projects across Brazil, Australia, Europe, and France illustrates how Crossing Oceans operates as a truly distributed creative enterprise. Rather than concentrating control in Los Angeles, the company supports local production teams and creative partners to propel work within their respective territories. This locally-focused structure accelerates development timelines whilst ensuring productions maintain cultural authenticity and local relevance. By treating different territories as creative equals rather than satellite offices, Crossing Oceans pioneers a production model that respects local knowledge whilst preserving the artistic standards and international perspective necessary for global commercial success.

Making Empathy Our Primary Focus

At the heart of Leshem’s perspective for international storytelling lies a fundamental belief in television’s ability to foster empathy across cultural boundaries. Rather than approaching global narratives as a business approach or financial expediency, he frames it as a ethical necessity—a platform by which audiences worldwide can engage with different viewpoints and gain greater insight of different societies. This conceptual approach elevates global drama beyond entertainment into something far more significant: a means of closing the emotional gaps that separate nations and communities. By placing empathy at the centre as the central principle, Leshem argues that television can accomplish what political discussion frequently fails to do: creating genuine human connection across difference.

The growth of locally produced content on international streaming platforms has paradoxically created both opportunity and risk. Whilst audiences now encounter stories from historically underrepresented territories, there remains a danger of treating such productions as cultural oddities rather than universal human narratives. Leshem’s commitment to emotionally intelligent narrative directly challenges this performative representation. His projects intentionally resist cultural stereotyping or performative diversity, instead crafting narratives that uncover the common fragilities, ambitions, and ethical dilemmas that bind humanity. This strategy converts audiences into genuine participants in other people’s emotional landscapes, nurturing the kind of cross-cultural understanding that has become ever more essential in an digitally connected but deeply divided world.

• Universal human stories transcend cultural and geographical boundaries
• Empathy-driven storytelling avoids exoticizing of foreign productions
• Common emotional moments foster authentic cross-cultural understanding
• Television’s power lies in making distant lives seem intimately familiar

Drama as a Means for Understanding

Television drama, when delivered with genuine artistic ambition, serves as a uniquely powerful medium for cultivating empathy. Unlike documentary approaches that preserve a detached perspective, drama invites audiences into the subjective emotional experiences of characters whose circumstances may differ substantially from their own. This immersive nature allows viewers to enter unfamiliar social contexts, familial arrangements, and ethical quandaries with an intimacy that builds understanding rather than mere awareness. Leshem’s work consistently harness this capacity, creating narratives that force audiences to face their own assumptions whilst acknowledging the core humanity in characters whose existences initially appear strange or perplexing.

The impact of this approach becomes notably evident in works tackling conflict, trauma, and social division. Series like “Valley of Tears” and “No Man’s Land” deliberately situate audiences within conflicted areas and divided societies, demanding that viewers navigate moral ambiguity without straightforward conclusions. Rather than delivering reassuring narratives of triumph or redemption, these programmes present the messy, complicated reality of how people endure and sometimes thrive within untenable situations. By rejecting reduction, Leshem’s work shows viewers that insight doesn’t necessitate agreement—it requires only the readiness to genuinely listen with stories profoundly distinct from one’s own.

What Creates a Series Achieve Success

In an era brimming with content, the distinction between programmes that merely exist and those that authentically engage hinges on a willingness to take bold creative steps. Leshem argues that global drama’s greatest asset lies not in its production budgets but in its potential to venture into dramatic space that conservative American television increasingly avoids. When streaming platforms emphasise algorithmic formulas over artistic boldness, freelance production companies operating across continents possess the ability to pursue stories that authentically provoke and test audiences. This fearlessness—the unwillingness to sand down rough edges for mass appeal—transforms television from mere entertainment into something far more impactful: a medium equipped to expanding consciousness.

The international projects that gain widespread market traction invariably exhibit an uncompromising dedication to their source material’s cultural and emotional authenticity. “Euphoria’s” initial Israeli adaptation succeeded not because it pursued American preferences but because it stayed fiercely true to its own context, ultimately establishing that particularity rather than broad genericness generates genuine universality. Leshem’s current slate of endeavours—from “Paranoia” in Brazil to creative ventures with Iranian directors—embodies this belief that the most globally compelling storytelling emerges when filmmakers prioritise their vision’s integrity over organisational demands to standardise. Such creative courage, paradoxically, functions as the means of achieving international commercial success.

• Authentic storytelling grounded in distinct cultural settings resonates universally
• Artistic risk-taking sets apart memorable television from disposable programming
• Refusing commercial compromise often yields greater commercial success
• Global drama flourishes when creative direction supersedes algorithmic predictability