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 juggernaut “Euphoria,” has declared that television is entering a golden age of global drama. Speaking at this year’s Canneseries festival, Leshem—whose credits feature “Valley of Tears,” “No Man’s Land” and “Bad Boy”—contended forcefully that independent producers and international storytelling hold the key to revitalising television drama. As streaming platforms progressively focus on domestically-oriented programming and broadcasters play it safe, Leshem stays firmly confident about the future, backed by his own slate of ambitious international projects spanning Brazil, Australia, Europe and France. His belief comes at a critical moment when global drama risks being reduced to little more than a cost-effective option or exotic niche rather than a artistic movement transforming the medium.

The Case for Daring, Limit-Breaking Story Creation

Leshem’s central argument contests the widespread timidity in modern television. Rather than falling back on safe formulas, he argues that international storytelling offers something the industry critically demands: real unpredictability. When broadcasters and streaming platforms stick to proven models, approving only proven templates and recognizable plots, they forfeit the format’s core strength to inspire and disturb. Leshem believes this juncture demands the opposite approach—creators must adopt the unfamiliar, push into uncharted ground, and have faith in viewers to go along into uncomfortable, unexpected places. The Israeli original “Euphoria” embodied this approach, delivering authentic intensity and cultural distinctiveness to a story that surpassed its origins to become a global phenomenon.

The economics of international production, Leshem highlights, genuinely free rather than constrain artistic vision. Whilst American television continually requires considerable spending to justify production approvals, overseas projects can achieve equivalent production quality at a fraction of the cost. This financial flexibility paradoxically enables greater creative risk-taking. Creators operating in international settings aren’t bound by the same market demands that force American networks toward safe, accessible content. Instead, they can invest in unique perspectives, non-traditional storytelling, and the kind of daring innovation that eventually generates the most impactful and culturally relevant programming.

• Global storytelling opens doors to unexplored territories, setups and dramatic trajectories
• Independent producers can deliver high-end drama at significantly reduced costs
• International storytelling attracts audiences weary of formulaic television
• Cultural distinctiveness establishes credibility that surpasses geographical boundaries

Breaking the Safe Formula

The television industry’s present risk aversion represents a fundamental misreading of audience appetite. Streaming services and traditional broadcasters have grown obsessed with metrics and algorithmic predictability, leading to an endless parade of rehashed content and franchises. Yet audiences continue gravitating toward programmes that surprise them—narratives that feel genuinely dangerous, ethically nuanced, and culturally rooted. Global drama, by its inherent character, resists the standardising tendency that dominates mainstream American television. When creators operate within different cultural contexts and production ecosystems, they’re forced to think differently, to question assumptions, to venture beyond the well-worn paths that have calcified into industry convention.

Leshem’s own production company, Crossing Oceans, embodies this philosophy through its deliberately global portfolio. From “Paranoia” in Brazil to “Revolution,” a France Télévisions collaboration with Iranian filmmakers, his works deliberately court creative friction and cross-cultural exchange. These aren’t prestige vanity projects designed to gather festival laurels; they’re calculated bets that audiences worldwide hunger for stories that provoke, unsettle, and eventually transform them. By welcoming the unfamiliar rather than shying away from it, Leshem suggests, television can reclaim its position as the platform where genuine artistic risk-taking still counts.

From Israeli Heritage to International Goals

Ron Leshem’s path from Israeli television to international prominence exemplifies the far-reaching influence of stories deeply embedded in place. His early work in Israeli drama established him as a recognisable storytelling force, unafraid to tackle intricate ethical and cultural questions with unflinching honesty. This base proved essential in shaping his subsequent methodology to worldwide content creation. Rather than abandoning his cultural specificity for wider market reach, Leshem has consistently leveraged his Israeli perspective as a artistic resource, proving that profoundly rooted narratives possess universal resonance. His trajectory illustrates that the most captivating worldwide programming often emerges not from diminishing cultural specificity, but from doubling down on it.

The creation of Crossing Oceans, his production outfit headquartered in Los Angeles but working chiefly across global markets, constitutes a intentional move away from traditional Hollywood production approaches. Working alongside longtime collaborators Amit Cohen and Daniel Amsel, Leshem has constructed a slate strategically created to prioritise artistic integrity over market-tested formulas. His current projects span Brazil, Australia, Europe, and France in collaboration with Iranian filmmakers—a geographical and creative range that would have seemed impossible in conventional television structures. This worldwide reach represents far more than ambition; it’s a calculated claim that the direction of television storytelling lies in decentralised production ecosystems where local knowledge and worldwide vision intersect.

The Euphoria Effect

The original Israeli series that inspired Sam Levinson’s HBO adaptation became a landmark cultural achievement, establishing definitively that non-English language drama could achieve unprecedented global commercial success. Leshem’s creation resonated so profoundly with audiences worldwide that it spawned numerous international versions, each tailored to capture local cultural contexts whilst preserving the psychological intensity and genuine emotional resonance of the original vision. This success fundamentally altered market views about international television’s commercial viability. Studios and streaming services that had traditionally overlooked non-English language drama as specialised programming suddenly recognised the market potential of culturally specific storytelling executed with professional quality.

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 reflected. Levinson’s adaptation succeeded not by sanitising the source material but by preserving its fundamental boldness whilst translating it for American sensibilities. This model—honourable reimagining rather than wholesale reimagining—has become increasingly influential in how global drama is approached, encouraging producers to seek authentic local voices rather than imposing standardised templates.

• Original Israeli series spawned multiple international adaptations in various regions
• HBO adaptation became the network’s second-most popular series of all time
• Success established cross-border television drama could attain unparalleled commercial and critical acclaim

Crossing Oceans: Establishing an International Manufacturing Network

Leshem’s production company, Crossing Oceans, represents a carefully structured response to the fragmentation of international TV production. Founded in partnership with CAA and based in Los Angeles, the company functions as a genuinely international enterprise rather than a Hollywood-focused venture that occasionally ventures abroad. Established alongside long-standing creative partners Amit Cohen and Daniel Amsel, Crossing Oceans serves as a creative hub where storytellers from diverse geographical and cultural backgrounds gather to develop projects with genuinely global ambition. This structure allows Leshem to preserve creative autonomy whilst leveraging the distinct production ecosystems, regional expertise, and pools of creative talent that various regions provide, fundamentally challenging the notion that high-quality drama must emerge from traditional entertainment capitals.

The company’s current portfolio demonstrates the extent of the international reach and the range of storytelling approaches it supports. 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 functions as a facilitator of genuine regional storytellers working in collaboration with international ambition. This approach generates 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.

Working Together Throughout Continents

Crossing Oceans’ international partnerships showcase how current world drama flourishes through genuine creative collaboration rather than conventional studio hierarchies. The work alongside Iranian filmmakers on “Revolution” reflects this principle, bringing perspectives and storytelling traditions that Western-centric production models would typically overlook. By establishing these relationships as equal creative voices rather than subcontractors, Leshem’s company generates projects strengthened by multiple cultural viewpoints and creative practices. This partnership approach challenges conventional wisdom about the source of quality television, proving that creativity develops when varied artistic perspectives collaborate authentically toward shared artistic vision.

The simultaneous development of projects across Brazil, Australia, Europe, and France illustrates how Crossing Oceans operates as a authentically distributed creative enterprise. Rather than concentrating control in Los Angeles, the company empowers local production teams and creative partners to drive projects forward within their respective territories. This decentralised approach accelerates development timelines whilst ensuring productions reflect genuine cultural identity and local relevance. By treating different territories as collaborative partners rather than satellite offices, Crossing Oceans introduces a production model that honours local insight whilst maintaining the artistic standards and international perspective required for global commercial success.

Empathy as Our Central Purpose

At the heart of Leshem’s perspective for global drama lies a fundamental belief in television’s ability to foster empathy across cultural divides. Rather than approaching global narratives as a business approach or financial expediency, he frames it as a moral imperative—a platform by which audiences worldwide can inhabit unfamiliar perspectives and develop deeper understanding of distinct cultures. This philosophical framework elevates global drama beyond entertainment into something more consequential: a means of closing the psychological distances that divide different populations. By placing empathy at the centre as the guiding principle, Leshem argues that television can accomplish what political discussion frequently fails to do: fostering authentic human bonds across cultural divides.

The expansion of locally produced content on international streaming platforms has somewhat counterintuitively created both opportunities and challenges. Whilst audiences now encounter stories from historically underrepresented territories, there remains a danger of regarding such works as exotic curiosities rather than stories of shared human experience. Leshem’s commitment to empathy-driven storytelling directly challenges this tokenisation. His projects deliberately avoid reductive stereotypes or performative diversity, instead crafting narratives that uncover the shared vulnerabilities, ambitions, and moral complexities that unite humanity. This strategy transforms viewers into genuine participants in other people’s emotional landscapes, cultivating the form of intercultural comprehension that has become increasingly vital in an interconnected yet polarised world.

• Timeless human stories transcend geographical and cultural boundaries
• Empathy-driven narrative prevents exoticizing of international productions
• Common emotional moments create genuine intercultural understanding
• Television’s power lies in making faraway lives seem intimately familiar

Dramatic Performance as a Means for Comprehension

Television drama, when crafted with genuine creative vision, operates as a uniquely potent form for building empathy. Unlike documentary approaches that preserve a detached perspective, drama pulls audiences into the subjective emotional experiences of characters whose situations may diverge radically from their own. This absorbing quality allows viewers to occupy unfamiliar social environments, familial arrangements, and ethical quandaries with an closeness that generates understanding rather than simple awareness. Leshem’s work consistently exploit this potential, constructing narratives that compel audiences to confront their own assumptions whilst identifying the core humanity in characters whose circumstances initially seem strange or perplexing.

The impact of this method becomes notably evident in productions tackling conflict, trauma, and community fragmentation. Series like “Valley of Tears” and “No Man’s Land” deliberately situate audiences within contested territories and broken communities, demanding that audiences navigate ethical complexity without straightforward conclusions. Rather than providing soothing accounts of victory or salvation, these programmes present the intricate, messy reality of how people endure and sometimes thrive within insurmountable conditions. By resisting oversimplification, Leshem’s work shows spectators that understanding needn’t demand agreement—it requires only the readiness to authentically engage with stories markedly unlike one’s own.

What Drives a Series Gain Traction

In an era brimming with content, the distinction between programmes that merely exist and those that authentically engage hinges on a readiness to take creative risks. Leshem argues that global drama’s greatest asset lies not in its budgetary constraints but in its ability to venture into narrative territory that conservative American television increasingly avoids. When streaming platforms emphasise algorithmic predictability over artistic surprise, independent producers operating across continents possess the ability to pursue stories that genuinely unsettle and push audiences. This fearlessness—the unwillingness to sand down rough edges for commercial viability—transforms television from background viewing into something far more consequential: a medium able to expanding consciousness.

The international works that achieve commercial success invariably demonstrate an unwavering commitment to their original material’s cultural and emotional authenticity. “Euphoria’s” initial Israeli adaptation thrived not because it catered to American sensibilities but because it proved firmly committed to its particular setting, ultimately demonstrating that distinctive detail rather than broad genericness creates genuine universality. Leshem’s existing portfolio of projects—from “Paranoia” in Brazil to creative ventures with Iranian directors—demonstrates this conviction that the most globally compelling storytelling develops when filmmakers place emphasis on their artistic vision’s honesty over institutional pressure to standardise. Such creative courage, paradoxically, serves as the means of achieving international success.

• Genuine storytelling grounded in specific cultural contexts appeals across audiences
• Artistic bold choices distinguishes compelling shows from disposable programming
• Refusing market pressures frequently generates greater commercial success
• International television flourishes when creative direction supersedes formulaic patterns