All about Netflix’s Jewish Matchmaking
What can you tell us about “Jewish Matchmaking”?
The one thing that everyone has in common: They’re committed; they want to get married.
They’re very diverse, which is cool because you have people across the Jewish spectrum.
You have from quite irreligious to quite Orthodox.
How are the singles cast on the show?
I can think of a couple of friends who would be great for it.
because I want to be on the show.
My neighbor wants to be on the show.
My cousin would be perfect for the show.
My brother needs the show."
It’s definitely part of the culture.
When they ask me, I say, “Hopefully, there’ll be a Season 2.”
We don’t know yet at this point.
We had casting directors [working with] Aleeza.
She has an entire roster of singles from around the world.
She knows people from so many different places and different experiences.
How did the concept for the series come about?
I know that “Indian Matchmaking” has been a hit on Netflix.
So we’re thinking, “What other cultures do this?”
And the Jewish matchmaking tradition is very rich and has been around for a long time.
My title is “consulting producer.”
I’m an Orthodox Jewish person.
I met my husband through a matchmaker, and I was using it for years.
The Orthodox, by and large, are the most comfortable using matchmakers.
Let’s get it right.
Let’s check that it’s accurate."
So I feel that accurate representation is a matter of life and death.
These negative stereotypes and inaccuracies fuel antisemitism, and we can’t afford to have that.
Kudos to the show for wanting to ensure everything was authentic.
It was also an enjoyable job.
I wasn’t just dealing with deep and heavy things all day.
I helped explain the Jewish culture and Jewish traditions and the matchmaking tradition.
It was a beautiful rainbow, and it showed the breadth of Judaism and Jewish observance.
There wasn’t just one way to be Jewish.
I felt like the show united them all.
That was beautiful to show the diversity.
I put it in air quotes because some were more arranged, and some were just heavily traditional.
But there were some similarities.
How did you transition to TV?
I honestly had a cool backstory.
And we’d have 1,000 women a night because it’s segregated.
It’s women only 1,000 women a night for five nights.
I’d be writing original plays and then directing them.
It was so fascinating to watch my vision come to life.
So I set out to change that.
I ended up writing and directing and self-producing because it was unknown at the time.
It could have gone either way.
How are you going to get married after you’re making a movie?
Oh my gosh."
But I took a risk.
Thank God it paid off.
Then I pitched the concept of “Arranged” to them, and we ended up working together.
That was my segue from theater to film to TV.
How would you say this background helps you in your filmmaking, directing, writing, and producing work?
That’s an interesting question.
Yes, I started out as an English teacher.
Actually, I continued teaching English even after I was a school psychologist because I loved the classroom.
I did start out teaching sixth-grade and then later eighth-grade English.
I taught eighth-grade English probably for 20 years.
Then, at some point, I also became a school psychologist.
I was doing [that] one half of the day and teaching the other half of the day.
That’s the psychology element.
So that’s the commonality of them.
My mother would say …
I just like to run things.
Everything excites me, but let me pick.
Imagine carrying this thing for so long, and then the world can see it.
That part is amazing, and I’m so excited.
Also, I’m very proud of it, so I’m proud to have people see it.
There are no tropes, no jokes at our expense, no subtle digs.
It’s just people who are proud to be Jewish.
It’s a nice thing for Jewish people to have that.
It sounds like it’ll be really entertaining and funny.
Yes, definitely funny, definitely unexpected things.
There are always the people that you love and the people you love to hate.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
“Jewish Matchmaking” is now streaming globally only on Netflix.
