[2] The show follows four Haredi yeshiva students in Jerusalem: Avinoam (Daniel Gad), who is the son of a Knesset member; Dov, nicknamed Lazer (Omer Perelman Striks), who comes from a wealthy family that primarily lives in New York City; Meir (Israel Attias), who comes from a poor Mizrahi/Sephardi family; and Gedaliah (Ori Laizerouvich), a nerdy and pious Torah scholar who joins the group.

[5][6] The show also includes Maya Wertheimer as Devorah, who is Lazer's sister and Gedaliah's love interest and--in season two--fiancee.

In protest, the remaining trio launches a media campaign, which eventually leads Spitzer to reinstate Meir, though with conditions.

However, Avinoam dates Shira, a secular waitress, and Meir becomes involved with Ruth, the daughter of donors, despite a failed match attempt with Dov.

[8][9] Tablet magazine described the show as "funny, whimsical, and cutting" continuing "Stylistically, Malka [creator] trades soft-lens nostalgia for Tarantinoesque dark, even violent, comedy.

"[10] The show was also praised by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency as a "wacky, stylized comedy with an excellent soundtrack and a whole new way of depicting the world of the yeshiva."

The review continued: "But if fast-paced, laugh-out-loud “Shababnikim” distinguishes itself from the likes of “Shtisel,” full of melancholic plotlines and dreary music, it also stands apart because of the in-depth way it explores fault lines of race within haredi communities.