''Normali'' () is an Israeli

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional te ...

series created by Leore Dayan and Asaf Korman. It stars Roy Nik as the protagonist Noam Ashkenazi, a stressed young columnist with an unhealthy reliance on

ritalin Methylphenidate, sold under the brand names Ritalin ( ) and Concerta ( ) among others, is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. It may be taken by mouth ...

to achieve his deadlines.

Rami Heuberger Rami Heuberger (; born 12 October 1963) is an Israeli actor, comedian and theatre director. Biography Career in the theater After his army service, Heuberger studied acting at Nissan Nativ's acting studio in Tel Aviv. At the end of his studies, ...

stars as Udi, Noam's father and Liron Ben-Shlush plays Noam's psychiatrist, Dr. Zarowski. It premiered on

HOT Hot commonly refers refer to: *Heat, a hot temperature *Pungency, in food, a spicy or hot quality Hot or HOT may also refer to: Places *Hot district, a district of Chiang Mai province, Thailand ** Hot subdistrict, a sub-district of Hot Distric ...

on 4 November 2020. The series is inspired by Dayan's real-life short stay at a psychiatric hospital and his own illustrious family. He is the son of the film director,

Assi Dayan Assaf "Assi" Dayan (; 23 November 1945 – 1 May 2014) was an Israeli film director, actor, screenwriter, and producer. Life Dayan was the youngest son of Israeli general and defense minister Moshe Dayan and peace activist Ruth Dayan (née Sch ...

and grandson of

Moshe Dayan Moshe Dayan (; May 20, 1915 – October 16, 1981) was an Israeli military leader and politician. As commander of the Jerusalem front in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Chief of General Staff (Israel), Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defe ...

.‘A Short Visit to a Psychiatric Ward? It’s Highly Recommended’
''Haaretz''. 29 October 2023 Caroline Langford, Assi's ex-wife and Leore's mother, plays Noam's mother in the series.

Plot summary

Noam Ashkenazi (Roy Nik) is a young 25-year-old columnist who suffered a severe

paranoia Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of co ...

attack after taking too many

Ritalin Methylphenidate, sold under the brand names Ritalin ( ) and Concerta ( ) among others, is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. It may be taken by mouth ...

pills he bought from teenage drug dealers. His concerned father, Udi (Rami Heuberger) arranges for him to be admitted to a psychiatric ward. Noam finds himself hospitalized in a closed ward, where he has to face for the first time a foreign environment that includes extreme people and strict rules. In the psychiatric ward he also finds for the first time people who can understand and accept him as he is, which makes him believe that he has found a place where he can feel like he belongs. But the department, and its medical staff, have their own rules and ways of doing things.

Cast

* Roy Nik as Noam Ashkenazi, a young columnist *

as Udi Ashkenazi, Noam's father and a famous writer *Liron Ben-Shlush as Dr. Zarowski, Noam's psychiatrist *Shiraz Lanciano as Karin Maimon, a young patient at the psychiatric ward and Noam's love interest *Caroline Langford as Noam's mom *Varda Ben Hur as Nurse *Lee Gilat as ward patient *Omer Etzion as Tomer *Karin Tepper as Nurse Sigal

Reception

The series was well received. Hannah Brown of ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...

'' wrote: "I appreciated the series’ unromanticized look at mental illness and its ability to put you inside Noam's head. It also features some excellent writing, especially in the scenes that establish and develop the relationship between father and son."Back to ‘Normal’, ‘Elsbeth’ arrives and ‘Fool Me Once’ flourishes
''The Jerusalem Post''. 12 March 2023 Nik was also nominated for an

International Emmy Award for Best Actor The International Emmy Award for Best Performance by an Actor is an award presented by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (IATAS) dedicated to for male performance from a program originally created for television. Rules and ...

for his performance as Noam.Israeli thriller ‘Tehran’ nominated for International Emmy Award
''The Times of Israel''. 23 September 2021

References

External links

* {{IMDb title 2020 Israeli television series debuts Culture of Israel Dayan family Hebrew-language television series Words and phrases in Modern Hebrew

Plot summary

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links