The Baker and the Beauty () is an Israeli romantic-comedy TV series that follows the love story between a simple baker and an international supermodel. It ranks as one of the highest-rated scripted series ever in Israel.
The series takes a comical approach to Jewish ethnic divisions in Israel by exploring the relationship between a privileged Ashkenazi Jewish woman and her working-class Mizrahi Jewish (Yemenite-Jewish) love interest.
Season two premiered on May 9, 2017.
The worlds of the model and heiress Noa Hollander (Rotem Sela) and the baker Amos Dahari (Aviv Alush) collide when they meet on a night out in Tel Aviv.
In season one, they face challenges to staying together as Noa's ruthless agent Tzvika (Mark Ivanir) and Amos' ex-girlfriend Vanessa (Hila Saada) conspire to break the couple up.
In season two, further impediments to their happiness are created by Noa's father and his scheming assistant, Eden.
In 2021, in Israel, seasons 1 and 2 were edited into 2 mini-movies to remind people of the series and what had happened so far.
In season 3, there is a time jump of 3 years following the end of season 2.
It was confirmed in 2020 that season 3 would be 4 episodes long and would end the series.
The series has been well-received by critics. Haaretz newspaper described it as "a great series" and that the "secret of the charm lies in the genre."
Perhaps the most popular and ancient genre (from âÂÂDaphnis and Chloeâ to âÂÂThe Taming of the Shrew,â not to mention âÂÂWhen Harry Met Sally...âÂÂ), itâÂÂs the genre most lacking in Israeli culture throughout the generations."
In the United Kingdom where the series is broadcast on Channel 4, The Daily Telegraph praised the series, writing that "aside from being a hugely entertaining, frivolous romantic comedy on the surface, the show has a grittier side which will appeal to a British audience."
Walter Iuzzolino acquired the series for Walter Presents, a Channel 4 streaming service of foreign language TV drama and comedy. Iuzzolino spoke about the series to The Jewish Chronicle, "On the one hand, it's a shamelessly commercial piece, with all the classic ingredients of a typical love story. However, I think there's an honesty about it which really resonated with me. The underlying themes are sophisticated, particularly regarding the notion of family. She [Noa] lives in a vacuum of no relations and he lives surrounded by these noisy Sicilian types who I love! To me, it painted the portrait of a community and bonds that are really lovely. I think it gives the series a lot of [weight]."
The series was created by Assi Azar, who had Bar Refaeli in mind for the lead role. Rotem Sela took the role when Refaeli pulled out.
An English subtitled version was released online on the Channel 4 website. On June 20, 2017, Amazon acquired global rights of the first two seasons of the show and streams them worldwide on Amazon Prime Video. As of October 9, 2021, the show was no longer available in the US on Amazon Prime Video. It was not clear where the show could be streamed from for viewers in the US.