Hulu, Arte board Syrian war thriller starring James Purefoy

Hulu and Arte have greenlit Fertile Crescent, an eight-part drama set during the Syrian War which stars James Purefoy and is being distributed internationally by Fremantle.

Set in the world of female Kurdish fighters, Fertile Crescent is co-created by Maria Feldman (False Flag), Eitan Mansuri (When Heroes Fly), Amit Cohen (False Flag) and Ron Leshem (Euphoria).

The international series is co-produced by Masha Productions, Spiro Films, Haut et Court TV, ARTE France and Fremantle.

Fertile Crescent explores the Syrian civil war through the eyes of Antoine, a young French man, in search for his estranged, presumed to be dead sister. Antoine ends up joining forces with a unit of Kurdish female fighters, travelling with them into ISIS occupied territory.

As well as James Purefoy, Fertile Crescent stars Félix Moati (The French Dispatch, Le Grand Bain), Mélanie Thierry (La Douleur, Au revoir là-haut) alongside Souheila Yacoub, Joe Ben Ayed, James Floyd, Dean Ridge, Julia Faure, François Caron and Céline Samie.

The series is written by Amit Cohen and Ron Leshem in collaboration with Xabi Molia (Commes des Rois, Les Conquérants). Oded Ruskin (False Flag) is directing all eight episodes.

Fertile Crescent is produced by Maria Feldman for Masha Productions, Eitan Mansuri and Jonathan Doweck for Spiro Films, Caroline Benjo, Simon Arnal and Carole Scotta for Haut et Court TV, and co-produced by ARTE France and Versus Production.

Fremantle’s Christian Vesper will also co-produce.