AppleTV’s TEHRAN – A TV Review

AppleTV+’s original offerings have been a bit slim as of yet, no doubt complicated by the coronavirus which has slowed all movie and television production to a crawl. They have had a couple high profile successes, THE MORNING SHOW and MYTHIC QUEST: RAVEN’S BANQUET, but of most interest to spy fans will be the show TEHRAN.

Switched identities, long lost family and a romance all get thrown into the mix of what is a very compelling and bingable, if quite preposterous, plot.

TEHRAN is a Israeli spy show import from one of the writers on FAUDA, the critically acclaimed tv series following the Israeli Defense Force. The show stars Niv Sultan as Tamar, a Mossad agent/hacker, sent undercover into Iran to disable their air defenses long enough for the Israeli air force to blow up the site of Iran’s nuclear program. Of course things quickly go wrong and before you know it Tamar is on the run as she tries to get her mission back on track.

This show is less the gritty spy realism of THE SANDBAGGERS than the goofy, but watchable, plot antics of 24. Switched identities, long lost family and a romance all get thrown into the mix of what is a very compelling and bingable, if quite preposterous, plot. episode ends in a cliffhanger that brings you back for more and Sultan creates a character whom you want to root for even as she becomes a pawn between the competing Iranian and Israeli spymasters.

Deserving special note is Shaun Toub, the Iranian born actor who portrays a investigator for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. He brings humanity to what should be just the villain role and becomes a worthy adversary for Sultan’s Mossad agent.

A second season hasn’t been officially announced yet but seems quite likely and I’ll be looking forward to it. For those waiting on SLOW HORSES to start appearing on AppleTV before signing up, TEHRAN is well worth a week trial and quick binge watch for those craving a spy tv fix.

Check out the trailer below –

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