Dana Eden, with the Emmy Award won in November 2022 by the production team of the series “Tehran”, PHOTO: Kena Betancur / AFP / Profimedia Images
Dana Eden, the 52-year-old creator and producer of the Israeli spy series “Tehran”, died suddenly in Athens on Sunday while filming the production's fourth season in Greece, her death sparking a wave of speculation on social media, Reuters and The Times of Israel reported.
According to Israeli media, Eden was found dead in a hotel in Athens by her brother, who began looking for her after she stopped responding to messages.
Local police ordered an autopsy to determine the cause of death and began collecting surveillance camera footage and statements from hotel staff.
Kan, Israel's public broadcaster, issued a statement paying tribute to Eden.
“We mourn the passing of our colleague and partner in a long line of productions, series and programs of the Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation – Dana Eden,” the statement said. “Dana was among the highest-ranking figures in Israel's television industry and played a central role in the creation and coordination of some of the corporation's most prominent and influential productions. His professional and personal legacy will continue to shape Israeli television for many years to come,” she added.
The creator of the series had traveled to Athens for filming
The release states that Eden had traveled to Greece to closely supervise the filming of the fourth season. She was one of the 3 creators of the series “Tehran” along with Moshe Zonder and Maor Kohn.
The series is very popular in Israel and enjoyed international success on the streaming platform AppleTV+, which convinced the acclaimed British actor Hugh Laurie (“House MD”, “The Night Manager”) to join the production in the previous season in a leading role.
The production company behind the “Tehran” series has said there is no indication of criminal involvement in Eden's death, amid rumors that have spread wildly on social media that she was killed by Iranian agents.
“The production company wishes to clarify that rumors that the death was criminal or nationalistic in nature are untrue and baseless,” Donna and Shula Productions said in a statement.
Why is the TV series “Tehran” filmed in Greece?
Producers of the award-winning series, which won the Emmy Award for Best Drama Series in 2022, decided to use areas of Athens as a stand-in for Tehran after Eden visited the European country on a family vacation and was struck by the visual similarities between the two cities.
Israeli citizens are prohibited from visiting Iran.
Eden's professional partner was producer Shula Spiegel, the other half of Donna and Shula Productions, the company through which “Tehran” and many of Eden's other projects were made.
Together, Eden and Spiegel have produced more than 40 television series and films, both fiction and documentaries, including “Five Men and a Wedding,” “Dan & Muzly,” “The Magpie,” “The Stylist” and the CBS pilot episode “Mother's Day,” as well as several seasons of the hit children's series “Shakshouka” and the documentary series “Saving the Wild Animals.”
