Snitch. Brother. Survivor. This Israeli crime gem will wreck your weekend plans.
Season 2 • Episode 8
LatestAfter serving 17 years in prison for a murder conviction, Asa Katz receives an early release on the condition that he continues to cooperate with the police as their jailhouse informant. Asa returns to his old neighborhood and to his older brother, David, a successful realtor who made his money in dubious business dealings. Conflicting interests put Asa in precarious situations, and he finds himself torn between his life of crime and his work with the police, all the while skillfully navigating both worlds to his advantage.
Acting
Or Ben-Melech's eyes carry seventeen years of prison in every glance.
Writing
Every alliance shifts like sand; trust no one, especially family.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Magpie joins Fauda and Shtisel in Israel's golden age of prestige TV, but its focus on Mizrahi working-class communities in peripheral towns sets it apart from Tel Aviv-centric stories.
The show's Hebrew title 'עורב' (Orev/Raven) references both the bird and prison slang for informants — a double meaning lost in the English 'Magpie.'
IL
