The programme was acquired by 20th Century Fox Television before it aired in Israel, and was adapted into the eight-season series Homeland for Showtime in the United States from 2011 to 2020.
The series, set in 2008, depicts three Israeli soldiers who were captured 17 years previously while on a secret mission with their unit in Lebanon.
The series explores the reintegration of Nimrod and Uri into a society which has made them national icons, and into an interrupted family life, while working through the trauma of having been held captive and tortured.
Initially disagreeing on what to do with their discovery that Amiel may still be alive, Nimrod and Uri take the information to Haim and Iris, who start to pursue their own (unofficial) investigation into what happened to Amiel—with unanticipated consequences.
Alongside this, the series continues to follow Nimrod and Uri (and the soldiers' families) as they pick up the pieces of their lives post-release.
It was criticized by family members of soldiers held prisoner, including Miriam Groff, mother of one of the men released in the Jibril Agreement.
[19] Viewing figures for the second season of Hatufim were even higher than for the first, with an average audience share of 40% (rising to 47.9% for the final episode) making it the highest-rated drama in Israel in 2012.
[24][25][26] In December 2009, three months before Hatufim premiered in Israel, it was reported that the rights to develop an American version of the series had been sold to 20th Century Fox Television.
[29][30][31] The rights to produce local versions of the series have been sold in Russia[32][33][34] (due to start filming in March 2014[35]), Colombia and Mexico[36][37] Turkey[30][38][39] and South Korea.
[43] Hatufim in its original format (in Hebrew with subtitles) has been sold internationally for broadcast on network and pay television, for download via VOD, and for DVD release.
[75] It was Hulu's first foreign language exclusive series in the United States, with episodes released weekly from 14 July to 15 September 2012.