Rough Diamonds is a Belgian drama television series set in the

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

diamond dealing community of

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. The series premiered on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

on April 21, 2023.

Synopsis

Noah Wolfson travels home to Antwerp after the suicide of his younger brother, Yanki. Upon his return, Noah reconnects with the

Haredi Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

community he abandoned when he left the Orthodox faith, while also trying to rescue his family's diamond trading business from the pressures of organized crime and a zealous local prosecutor.

Cast and characters

* Kevin Janssens as Noah Wolfson * Ini Massez as Adina Glazer * Robbie Cleren as Eli Wolfson * Yona Elian as Sarah Wolfson * Marie Vinck as Gila Wolfson *

Els Dottermans Els Dottermans is a Belgian actress of stage, film, and television. Early life and education Els Dottermans was born in Leuven, Belgium. She trained at Studio Herman Teirlinck in Antwerp. Career Dottermans was one of a permanent ensemble of ...

as Jo Smets *

Dudu Fisher David "Dudu" Fisher (; born 18 November 1951) is an Israeli cantor and performer, best known for his Broadway performance as Jean Valjean in the musical ''Les Misérables''. Biography The son of a Holocaust survivor, Fisher was born in Petah Tik ...

as Ezra Wolfson * Tine Joustra as Kerra McCabe * Casper Knopf as Tommy McCabe * Soroush Helali as Bujar

Production

''Rough Diamonds'' is a co-production from Israel's Keshet International, Belgium's De Mensen, and

Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie The Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie ("Flemish Radio and Television broadcasting organisation"), shortened to VRT (), is one of the national public service broadcasters for the Flemish Community of Belgium. Its counterpart in the Fr ...

(VRT).

Reception

The show has received generally positive reviews. ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

'' writes that the series is a "gem" that comes "from the heart."

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 15469192, Rough Diamonds 2023 Belgian television series debuts Belgian drama television shows Orthodox Judaism in popular culture Television series about Jews and Judaism Multilingual television series