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Israeli Sitcom Coming to Fox

With L.A. subbing for T.A.

by
Liel Leibovitz
May 24, 2010
Ramzor.(Ramzor on Facebook)
Ramzor.(Ramzor on Facebook)

Ramzor, Hebrew for traffic light, is one of those television shows—think Everybody Loves Raymond or Two and a Half Men—that everybody watches and nobody admits to watching. The sitcom was aired on Israel’s Channel 2 for two years. And, coming this fall, American audiences, too, can enjoy its surprisingly satisfying blend of stereotypes and raw humor: Fox has bought the format, rechristened the show Mixed Signals, and transferred its plot from Tel Aviv to Los Angeles. It debuts this fall.

The show’s Hebrew name is meant as a metaphor for the three stages in the development of the average male: Green Light (single! stupid! oversexed!); Yellow Light (in a committed relationship! confused! anxious!), and Red Light (married with children! desperate! emasculated!). As befitting such a premise, the American show’s mastermind is Bob Fisher, who wrote that classic of male arrested development, Wedding Crashers.

Here’s a quick taste of the traffic light, American style. Say, is that Pam’s ex?

Liel Leibovitz is editor-at-large for Tablet Magazine and a host of its weekly culture podcast Unorthodox and daily Talmud podcast Take One. He is the editor of Zionism: The Tablet Guide.