A web series strikingly close to Pegasus drama

Mona

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 12

It’s one of the top-trending shows, earning an IMDb rating of 7.2 and its popularity is soaring by the day. Released on August 6, “Hit & Run” —- a tale of spy games between the US and its closest ally Israel — comes close on the heels of the Pegasus controversy. “Hit & Run” is winning viewers not just with its intriguing plot that plays between safe houses and public spaces but also because it appears to be strikingly close to reality. The reality of Pegasus, a highly sophisticated spyware developed by Israeli company NSO that is capable of ‘zero-click’ attack. Pegasus software has allegedly been used to tap about 300 devices in India and thousands across the world, including those of top politicians and journalists.

The plot of the Netflix series has an uncanny likeness to the Pegasus spyware attacks. The Pegasus software was allegedly used to snoop on French President and other top politicians of the world, while the web series has Israelis using Remote Access Trojan (RAT) to spy on the US President and his family. The plot moves around intelligence agencies tracking a journalist, who’s aiming for a big exposé involving powerful politicians.

The plot builds an ominous steeplechase between all-powerful CIA agents and the fierce Mossad. The notebook of a dead agent has an encrypted code hinting that despite being America’s biggest ally, Israel is tapping POTUS, his daughter and son-in-law through RAT. Friends or foes, the distinction is hard to make in the spy show.

Strikingly close to current times, ‘Hit & Run’ seems to blur the lines between reality and fiction. A story set in Israel, with murky connections spread across countries, each episode unfolds the plot that swiftly moves from a happy family to a world of espionage. An American dancer Danielle Wexler Azulai (Kaelen Ohm), sharing home with her husband Segev Azulai (Lior Raz), an Israeli tour guide, is to go to New York for an audition, but a hit-and-run cuts her life short. Her grief-stricken husband with a stint in special ops finds himself a target as he tries to uncover the accident landing up in New York.

Lior Raz (Doron Kavillio in ‘Fauda’) is a treat for his fans with his burly body, intense looks and a measured act. The first season with an ending that hints at season 2 has strong women characters — Dani, a successful dancer with renowned Batsheva Dance Company and a capable agent; fierce police detective Tali Shapira (Moran Rosenblatt) living life on her terms; and a committed journalist Naomi Hicks (Sanaa Lathan).

SPY games

‘Hit & Run’ seems to blur the lines between reality and fiction. A story set in Israel, the plot moves from a happy family to a world of espionage