An Interview with Dana Eden and Daniel Syrkin from ‘Tehran’

Season two of the runaway hit series Tehran is available to stream on Apple TV+ right now, and to continue to celebrate its triumphant return, here is our interview with the show’s Creator/Executive Producer, Dana Eden, and the show’s Director/Executive Producer, Daniel Syrkin.

John Betancourt: So, Dana, I was wondering if you could walk us through what led to the creation and overall production of the show?

Dana Eden:  Well, you know, I was sitting in my office one day, and I got an email, and the title was Tehran. And I said, “Oh, my God, that's an amazing title for a show, I wish that what's written inside will really live up to the title.” And in this, you know, script was the first scene of the show, you know, with the airplane. And I thought, “wow, that's an amazing start for this show.” And so, I really believed in the show from the very first moment, and the first season, although it was small Israeli production, for Israeli standards, it was quite big. So, we really had to struggle to make the first season. We believed it would be a success, but we couldn't imagine it would be such a global success. And of course, we wouldn't imagine that we will win the international Emmys, and best drama. So, everything that happened with this show was quite a roller coaster. And the fact that Apple joined us and contributed to the show… really made us better, I think, in the second season, because we could really elevate the production, we could then get Glenn Close, which is amazing for us. And, I think the first season was a hit, and I hope we'll have even more audiences watch the show in the second season.

John Betancourt: Daniel, what was it that attracted you to this project as a director?

Daniel Syrkin: Oh, it’s a really interesting project. When Dana told me, you know about the project and asked me to get on board. I was super excited because the word Tehran, it was a magical mysterious word. You know? And I had done a few espionage series before and it was kind of my genre, but, you know, Tehran felt like you know, the top story, the top subject you want to you want to talk about, especially because we're Israelis, and our news, as is your news, is full of Iran, Iranian stories, the Iranian menace, and then I realized I don't know much about it, and I really want to know a lot about it. And, you know, just going into research about Tehran, blew my… blew my mind because I realized that I knew nothing about it. All of it was stereotypes. Their language, their culture, Iran itself, the city of Tehran, everything was a misconception, you know, so just learning how interesting this nation is, how deep their culture is. And also learning about the hardships of the Iranian people about the oppressive regime, and how people find ways to still live in it. All of those were remarkable. And also, it was just, you know, great espionage story, this young woman born in Tehran, reminded me of myself, I was born in Moscow and came in as an immigrant to Israel and I thought that this story of immigration is a universal story that everybody in the world you know, can identify with. So, there are many good reasons for me to take this show.

John Betancourt: Now, I couldn’t help but notice… that the intensity this season is up to an eleven, when it was at about a nine in season one. What led to the decision to ramping the tension up in season two?

Dana Eden: We just want people to binge it. -laughter from Daniel and John-

John Betancourt: That will definitely do it.

Daniel Syrkin: That’s the best answer, Dana. But you know, both of us are very involved in the writing process. And I must say that this year working with Apple was really super interesting. It's promoted us immensely because you know, the work with Apple just makes you be the best at what you are. And we were really together, you know, chewing the screenplay, and making sure that there are no soft, soft spots, soft bellies, that it just goes on straight as an arrow. And then you know, as a director on set, you just always want to be one step in front of the audience to be just slightly smarter, but respect the audience and you know, leave those who like to think, to guess... give them those little clues. And of course, the pacing. The pacing is super important.

John Betancourt: Dana, as a creator and executive producer of the show… what kind of espionage and spy influences did you want to see injected to this show when you put it together?

Dana Eden: Um, we've made a lot of research, we met, ex Mossad, high ranking Mossad experts. And you know, these espionage stories are popping up in Israel all the time. It's part of our lives. And it was very important for us that the operations that the Mossad does in our series would be truthful and will be somehow close to the truth. So, you know, Israel is constructed with… a lot of people have been in the army and the Mossad in the intelligence. So, we want those people watch the show. And think, “oh, that's like, this operation the Mossad did!” and we don't want to embarrass ourselves to the Israelis. And so, I hope we achieved it.

Daniel Syrkin: I think we did a good job.

John Betancourt: I would say you did. Now, the last question I have for both of you today… is what are you most proud of when it comes to your time with the show?

Dana Eden: I think I'm proud of, first of all, bringing an Israeli show to be a global hit. For me, as a producer, or the creator… this is something I was always, I was dreaming about. And it's a dream come true. And, of course, the fact that we worked with Iranians on set, that it was a true international production, with Iranians, Greeks, Americans, Israelis, Iranian actors from all over the world. I think it was a great, humane production, and I feel that you'll see it on screen. And that's something we're really proud of.

Daniel Syrkin: I'm, just really happy that, you know, we made really what I think is, is an excellent show that we have a world base of fans and that we are a group of people who have been working for many years together and managed to take our talents out of this small country of Israel and show and put it on the world map with the help of Apple and others. And, you know, it makes us very proud.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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