Dana Eden, the Emmy Award-winning Israeli television producer who co-created the hit spy thriller series “Tehran,” was found dead Sunday in her Athens hotel room at age 52, Greek police confirmed. Eden had been in the Greek capital since February 4, overseeing production of the show’s highly anticipated fourth season.
Her brother discovered Eden’s body after making several failed attempts to reach her throughout the day. Greek authorities ordered an autopsy to determine the cause of death and collected security camera footage and testimony from hotel staff. Police are treating the death as a suicide based on early evidence, with a spokesperson telling AFP that surveillance cameras had been reviewed and “everything seems to indicate it was a suicide.”
Eden’s production company, Donna and Shula Productions, moved quickly to address online speculation about the circumstances surrounding her death. “The production company wishes to clarify that rumors regarding a criminal or nationalistic-related death are not true and are unfounded,” the company said in a statement, urging the public to refrain from publishing unfounded theories.
The Israeli producer had built a remarkable career over nearly three decades in television, becoming one of the industry’s most daring risk-takers. When she was born in September 1973, her father—producer and writer Yoram Levi—established the advertising production company Dana Productions in her name. Eden joined the company in 1996 and quickly made her mark, producing her first series, “Youth Dreams,” which ran for three seasons on Channel 2 in the late 1990s. When her father fell ill with Parkinson’s disease, she took over Dana Productions and transformed it from a commercials house into a television powerhouse.
Eden’s biggest success came with “Tehran,” which premiered in June 2020 on Israel’s Kan 11 and in September internationally on Apple TV+. The series follows Tamar Rabinyan, played by Niv Sultan, a young Mossad agent born in Iran but raised in Israel who returns undercover to sabotage Iran’s nuclear program. At the 49th International Emmy Awards in November 2021, the show won Best Drama Series—becoming the first Israeli series to ever win the award.
The third season, which premiered on Apple TV+ on January 9, shot to number one on the streaming platform’s worldwide charts. The series attracted major Hollywood talent, with Glenn Close co-starring in the second season and Hugh Laurie joining as nuclear inspector Eric Peterson in the third season.
Eden co-created “Tehran” with Moshe Zonder and Maor Kohn, working closely with her longtime collaborator Shula Spiegel through Donna and Shula Productions. Together, the pair produced more than 40 television series and films. Since Israelis cannot visit Iran, the series has been filmed in Athens—a location Eden discovered during a family vacation when she noticed the visual similarities between the Greek and Iranian capitals, from narrow residential streets to wide boulevards surrounded by mountains.
In her Emmy acceptance speech, Eden spoke passionately about the deeper meaning behind the espionage drama and the collaboration between Israeli and Iranian cast and crew members. “I hope we can walk together—the Iranians and the Israelis, in Jerusalem and in Tehran—as friends, and not as enemies,” she said.
Israel’s Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar praised Eden’s contributions to the industry, calling her “one of the most prominent and influential producers in the Israeli television industry” and noting that she “brought our story to international stages with pride, talent, and courage.”
Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster, issued a statement mourning the loss of their longtime partner, describing Eden as “among the senior figures in Israel’s television industry” whose “professional and personal legacy will continue to shape Israeli television for many years to come.”
Beyond “Tehran,” Eden produced numerous successful Israeli series including “Shaul” in 2001, “She’s Got It” in 2018, and the acclaimed crime drama “Magpie” in 2019. Her 2012 series “Mother’s Day,” about a mother prone to lying, was sold to CBS and made into an American television movie starring Debra Messing. She also produced children’s programming including “Shakshouka” and the documentary series “Saving the Wild Animals.”
The Israeli Academy for Film and Television released a statement saying, “The academy bows its head over the untimely death of Dana Eden and shares in the family’s grief.”
Eden remained active on social media until just days before her death, posting positive reviews for “Tehran” and sharing behind-the-scenes photos from the fourth season’s production. The series, written by Tony Saint and Simon Allen and directed by Daniel Syrkin, also features actors Shaun Toub, Shila Ommi, Sasson Gabai, Phoenix Raei, and Bahar Pars. Production on season four will be halted for a week so cast and crew can attend Eden’s funeral and shiva.
Eden is survived by her son, actor Gur Eden—who was recently cast in the Martin Scorsese-directed series about the lives of Christian saints—and her brother, who made the tragic discovery Sunday. She leaves behind a legacy as one of Israel’s most successful television creators, having brought Israeli stories to global audiences through her groundbreaking work.