Organized

Organized is an Israeli comedy-drama created by Muli Segev and Assaf Harel, who also played one of its leading roles. The series premiered on February 17, 2007, on Keshet's Channel 2 broadcasts. It quickly became a major popular success, won several Israeli Academy of Television Awards and offered a satirical portrait of entrepreneurship, sudden wealth, friendship and life after a successful exit.

The series appeared at a time when the stories of Israeli start-ups and their acquisition by international corporations had become central to Israel's emerging self-image. Its premise was inspired by the sale of Mirabilis, the Israeli developer of the ICQ software, to the American company AOL in 1998. Organized transformed that real-world success story into accessible comedy, asking what happens when young entrepreneurs suddenly receive everything they thought they wanted.

The exit at the center of the story

The series follows four friends: Guy Fogel, played by Assaf Harel; Tomer Levy, played by Assi Cohen; Erez Kleiner, played by Eran Zarachovitch; and Shagi Barald, played by Maor Cohen. The four have sold their start-up, Jimlaya, to an American corporation for $217 million. The company developed a product combining PlayStation games with physical fitness.

The money allows the group to pursue almost every material fantasy: expensive homes and cars, extravagant investments, elite entertainment and the pleasures associated with the very wealthy. Yet wealth does not solve their problems. Instead, it exposes questions of identity, love, friendship, responsibility and purpose. The show therefore becomes more than a comedy about money; it is a story about people trying to understand how to live after achieving what is usually presented as the ultimate success.

Season one: life after the sale

The first season consisted of 11 episodes. Tomer changes girlfriends frequently until he falls in love with Maya, the group's financial adviser. Guy separates from Ayelet and falls into depression, later meeting Abigail and becoming her partner. Erez buys the soccer club of his childhood, Hapoel Kiryat Ono, only to discover that owning the team does not necessarily bring him the recognition and affection he expected.

These storylines allow the series to connect broad comedy with an observation of ordinary human weaknesses. The characters are not presented merely as successful millionaires. They remain friends carrying habits, anxieties and expectations from the lives they led before the exit.

Season two: entrepreneurship, politics and image

The second season was produced in 2008 and consisted of 11 episodes, which began airing on May 19, 2009. Its opening episode premiered on HOT VOD on May 17. At the beginning of the season, Guy returns from an extended stay in the United States after resigning from Sony. He proposes that the group develop a new product: a helmet that scans the space around its wearer and displays virtual figures within it.

The friends establish a new start-up called Innovate and compete with high-tech entrepreneur Saar Shaked, who tries to steal their idea and recruit Erez. Erez joins Shaked's company but secretly informs his friends about Shaked's business moves. At an annual high-tech conference, Guy, Tomer and Shagi deceive Shaked into believing that their product works successfully, although its operation is still only partial.

The season also expands into media and politics. After a series of complications, Tomer hires a public-relations adviser, buys a lake in Turkey in order to import its water and fill the Sea of Galilee, and then considers a political career. He meets members of the Knesset, establishes a political party with Erez and Shagi, and eventually arranges the sale of Innovate to Microsoft at a high price. Although negative press about its members damages the party and forces Erez to withdraw, it succeeds in winning seats in the Knesset at the end of the season.

Israeli success and international adaptation

Organized became an immediate ratings success. The opening episode received a 30% rating, while the fourth episode, broadcast on March 10, 2007, reached 30.4%, making it the most-watched episode in the series. The opening episode of the second season received a 26.1% rating, and the finale, which was also the series finale, received 21.5%.

At the 2007 Israeli Academy of Television Awards, the series won awards for Best Comedy Series, Best Screenplay and Best Direction. Assi Cohen won the award for Best Comedy Actor for his performance in the series. These achievements reflected the combination that made Organized distinctive: comic writing, a strong ensemble cast and a story rooted in a recognizably Israeli phenomenon—the intersection of high technology, money, media and politics.

The series also attracted attention beyond Israel. The American network FOX acquired the rights to produce a local version, although the project was not realized. In January 2016, the series was sold to the British Channel 4. In 2017, the British series Loaded premiered on the channel; it was produced with the American network AMC.

Why Organized belongs in Moreshet

Organized merits inclusion in Moreshet because it captures, through popular comedy, a significant moment in Israeli culture: the transformation of a small start-up into a story of immense wealth, public exposure and political ambition. It brought the Israeli entrepreneur and the exit economy into mainstream television while examining the human costs of material success.

Its importance rests both on its artistic achievements in Israel and on the international interest its format generated. For Moreshet.com, the series matters not simply as a successful television program, but as a cultural record of the language, humor and social imagination of Israel during the formative years of the high-tech and exit economy.