Hollywood veteran Henry Winkler is to lead Aleeza Chanowitz’s Israeli/U.S. crossover comedy Chanshi, with producers in talks with U.S. and international broadcasters.
Winkler will play Tatty, Chanshi’s (played by Chanowitz) father in the series for Israeli network HOT, which is being produced by Kastina Communications and directed by Bracha’s Mickey Triest and Aaron Geva.
Chanowitz’s Chanshi is a young religious girl from the Jewish community in Brooklyn who decides, just before her wedding and despite her family’s objections, to abandon everything familiar to her, and immigrate to Israel. In the Holy Land, Chanshi embarks on a wild and reckless journey, but the transition from a life with a clear set of rules to a life without any rules at all, is not at all what she was expecting and throws her into a whirlwind of life experiences.
Also starring in the series are Marnina Schon (Dollface), Tomer Machloof (Tehran), Lee Bader (Super Lady), Oshri Cohen (McMafia), Daniel Moreshet (The Big Nothing), Michal Birnbaum (Unorthodox), Roy Miller (Superdaddy) and Roni Dalumi (Euphoria) and Dor Gvirtsmam.
Deadline understands talks are underway with U.S. and other international broadcasters, with filming underway and the show set to air on HOT later this year.
Winker, most widely recognized for playing The Fonz in Happy Days, is a veteran three-time-Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star who was most recently seen in Wes Anderson’s French Dispatch and acclaimed HBO comedy Barry.