Tehran: Season 1

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 6 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 25 Ratings

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3.8

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3.8	Your Score
3.8	User Score Generally unfavorable reviews based on 25 Ratings

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Season Details & Credits

Apple TV+ | Season Premiere Date: September 25, 2020

Summary: Mossad agent Tamar Rabinyan (Niv Sultan) goes undercover in Tehran in this series created by Moshe Zonder, Dana Eden, and Maor Kohn.

[Premiered originally in Israel on Kan 11 on 22 Jun 2020 and in the US on Apple TV+ on 25 Sep 2020]

Genre(s): Drama, Action & Adventure, Suspense

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Season 1 Episodes

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

Dorothy Rabinowitz

Sep 17, 2020

Improbable though it is as a spy story, “Tehran” maintains its suspense throughout, possibly because it’s about more than spying. It’s a tale that incorporates the drama of lost cultures and identities. ... A satisfying ride. Read full review

Joel Keller

Sep 25, 2020

It’s not a stretch to say that Tehran is certainly a good-looking, well-acted series. Sultan is excellent as the conflicted Tamar, and Toub, whom Americans have seen in Homeland and a ton of other shows, does a great job as Kamali. Read full review

Inkoo Kang

Sep 23, 2020

Though it’s set in two countries, alternates between English, Hebrew and Farsi and boasts a sprawling cast, Tehran is so immersive and narratively orderly that it’s almost impossible to get lost. Read full review

The Telegraph Ed Power

Sep 25, 2020

Strip away the subtitles and the beautiful yet subtlety alien Middle East vistas and what’s left is essentially a gender-swapped Bourne Identity. But Zonder orchestras the tension masterfully, crafting a thriller as stylish as it is heart-stopping. Read full review

Saloni Gajjar

Sep 24, 2020

The dialogue is primarily in Hebrew and Persian languages, but to paraphrase one of Bong Joon-ho’s speeches during his Oscar win, overcoming the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles leads one to a lot more valuable art. Tehran is a solid example of that. Read full review

Daniel D'Addario

Sep 25, 2020

As television, the show, created by Moshe Zonder (previously the head writer of Israeli series “Fauda”) is flawed: At least a few episodes too long, lacking plausibility or tension, turgid when it wants to be zippy. ... “Tehran” doesn’t exclude Iranians entirely, but does frame them as allies or obstacles of a Mossad mission depicted uncritically and somewhat blankly as the work of justice, and more than that as a vehicle for thrills and scares. Read full review

User Score

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3.8

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User Reviews

Sveinbjorn

Jun 1, 2022

While the switching between three languages can be confusing, I found this, and the tight pacing of the show, made me put down the phone and really sink into this show.
It's a bit raw, it has a geopolitical ambivalence, where the vantage point is Israeli, but the heroes and villains areWhile the switching between three languages can be confusing, I found this, and the tight pacing of the show, made me put down the phone and really sink into this show.
It's a bit raw, it has a geopolitical ambivalence, where the vantage point is Israeli, but the heroes and villains are scattered between both sides. The "hero" of the story is a young female Israeli spy, who infiltrates Iranian society in a plot to help a military attack on nuclear targets. She's morally ambivalent, as a spy must be, and her foil, the older Iranian Revolutionary Guard spy-hunter is of similar ambivalence.
The ambiance is gritty, and gels with what I've seen and heard about life among young people in Teheran.
It gives you a sense of place, and a convincing one, as we travel through squatter communes, illicit raves and other slices of life.
The plot twists and turns, with paradigm switches scattered through the series, never a dull moment.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Broyax

Jun 24, 2022

Une série d’espionnage israélienne qui n’est pas sans rappeler notre (excellente) série nationale à nous, Le Bureau des Légendes, sauf qu’ici nous suivons les tribulations du Mossad en infiltration chez les barbus radicalisés… à Téhéran, capitale de la dictature islamiste.

Un réalismeUne série d’espionnage israélienne qui n’est pas sans rappeler notre (excellente) série nationale à nous, Le Bureau des Légendes, sauf qu’ici nous suivons les tribulations du Mossad en infiltration chez les barbus radicalisés… à Téhéran, capitale de la dictature islamiste.

Un réalisme certain est de rigueur dans cette première saison de 8 épisodes, ainsi que pas mal de moyens déployés ; la réalisation est d’ailleurs de haute volée et les comédiens assez convaincants. L’héroïne est gracieuse et vraiment très jolie mais sans doute pas aussi convaincante pour sa part (la part du lion ou de la lionne plutôt) qui concerne évidemment le rôle premier et principal.

En tout cas, on ne s’ennuie pas une seconde et l’ensemble n’est pas avare de surprises ou de rebondissements, surtout vers la fin… comme de coutume, il peut se trouver dans ces cas de figure quelques agents doubles qui s’avèrent des agents triples ou quadruples, voire plus si affinités !

L’ambiance volontiers paranoïde est très bien restituée dans cette ville sous le joug de la tyrannie religieuse fanatisée avec les conséquences que cela peut avoir des deux côtés, à savoir chez les illuminés du turban ou chez les « résistants » : c’est très instructif et pas si manichéen que ça, en définitive, car le Renseignement israélien est bien connu pour son pragmatisme…

Ajoutons que la musique à tenance électro est bien agréable et que la fin un peu précipitée mais palpitante est assez abrupte… peut-être verrons-nous une saison 2 qui précisera tout cela. En l’état et quoi qu’il en soit, « Theran » reste une série très recommandable et fort bien fichue.

Et justement, la saison 2 ne déçoit pas, bien au contraire ! elle s’avère encore meilleure, mieux rythmée, menée tambour battant du début à la fin… au prix cependant de raccourcis qui mettent un peu à mal la vraisemblance scénaristique… mais on y gagne au change, tout compte fait : une saison palpitante, rebondissante, quasi-parfaite !… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

podaddy

Apr 7, 2022

Decent spy thriller, certainly not worthy of the 0 star reviews some have given it. Chief criticism is that it could have been a really good 5 episode show, but there is a lot of unnecessary filler from time to time that does nothing to advance the story. That said, not sure what the writersDecent spy thriller, certainly not worthy of the 0 star reviews some have given it. Chief criticism is that it could have been a really good 5 episode show, but there is a lot of unnecessary filler from time to time that does nothing to advance the story. That said, not sure what the writers were thinking (SPOLIER ALERT COMING) when they had the lead actress make her way into the most powerful power grid in Iran dressed as a security guard with a fake beard and mustache. Good grief, Paul Blart's Mall Cop would have spotted the imposter within seconds but the guards at one of the most high security sites in Iran couldn't spot it. Really ridiculous. Still, a decent enough show to check out.… Expand

1 of 7 users found this helpful16

aantik4444

Sep 27, 2020

Badly written, badly acted, badly shot, cheaply made. Did I mention the bad writing?

7 of 9 users found this helpful72

Grady

Oct 5, 2020

Incredibly boring. Characters are stiff and wooden. The plot is dull and meandering. Deeply unpleasant to watch, and hard to sit through. I don’t understand why Apple made this show. The only reason it’s getting good critic ratings is because it has Muslim women in hijabs for forced diversity

7 of 9 users found this helpful72

Seasons & Episodes

72

Series Overview
Season 3

tbd
- Season 3 Overview
  Air Date: January 9, 2026
Season 2

tbd
- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: May 6, 2022
Season 1

72
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: September 25, 2020
- No episode information is currently available for this season