‘Kugel,’ The ‘Shtisel’ Prequel, To Launch On Israeli Streamer Izzy In Late February

Global streaming platform Izzy, which features Israeli TV shows and films, will launch Kugel, the prequel to Shtisel, on Friday, February 28. Named after the traditional Ashkenazi Jewish noodle cake, Kugel follows Nuchem (Sasson Gabai) and Libby (Hadas Yaron) in the years leading up to their move to the Mea Shearim neighborhood in Jerusalem. The series will be set in Antwerp, a Belgian city with a large Orthodox Jewish population, where Nuchem works as a jeweler and diamond dealer.

Yehonatan Indursky, the co-creator of Shtisel, is behind Kugel.

The Kugel logline: Years before her future husband, Akiva Shtisel, was even a twinkle in Libi’s eyes, she lived in Antwerp, Belgium with her father, Nuchem. Nuchem is a charming jewellery dealer, unafraid of bending the rules to make a sale. But when his wife Yides (Mili Avital) finally tires of his swindling and says she wants a divorce, their family life is thrown into disarray – Nuchem spends his days trying to save his marriage and achieve his dream of one day being a mogul, and his nights courting Pnina Baumbach, a recently-widowed woman who inherited a restaurant that specializes in fine Jerusalem-style noodle kugels. Throughout the series, Nuchem must learn to balance his ambition in business alongside the needs of the three women in his life.

Shtisel, which follows the lives of the extended Shtisel family – a warm, closely-knit, and argumentative ultra-Orthodox family in Jerusalem – produced 33 episodes in its three season run.

Izzy will be launching Kugel in 12 different languages to its subscribers across more than 110 nations globally, including English, Hebrew, Yiddish, French, Spanish, Turkish, Arabic and Portuguese.

“We are thrilled to bring Kugel exclusively to Izzy subscribers across the globe starting February 28, a series that we know millions of Shtisel fans have been waiting years to watch,” Nati Dinnar, Co-Founder & CEO, Izzy in a statement. “After we announced Kugel was coming only to Izzy in 2025, we have seen record numbers of subscribers signing up for our platform from nations all over the world. And not only can subscribers enjoy Kugel on Izzy, but also all three seasons of Shtisel and many more exceptional series and films from Israel’s leading storytellers.”

Eight episodes of Kugel have been produced. The series is written by co-creator and writer of Shtisel, Yehonatan Indursky; directed by Erez Kav-El and produced by Fremantle, Abot Hameiri (a Fremantle company) and Menuetto Film. The executive Producers are Dikla Barkai, Guy Hameiri and Eitan Abot for Abot Hameiri; Hattie Burles, Olivia Sleiter and Hilary Martin for Fremantle; Jay Ruderman for Boston Rose; and Dganit Atias Gigi and Uzi Karin for YES.