TEHRAN – Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) is making a sequel to “Gando”, a controversial docudrama that revolves around the spy case of Iranian-American journalist Jason Rezaian.

Produced by Mojtaba Amini, the 30-episode series was aired in July 2019 on IRIB Channel 3. It is about Jason Rezaiaan who served as Tehran bureau chief for the Washington Post.

Director Javad Afshar’s crew has begun shooting on location in Garmdarreh, a suburb of Karaj near Tehran.

Dariush Farhang, Vahid Rahbani, Sogol Tahmasbi, Ali Afshar and Shahrzad Kamalzadeh were among the actors in the first series. They are also collaborating with the cast in the new project.

Rezaian was arrested in Iran in July 2014 and was convicted of espionage in a trial in 2015. On January 16, 2016, he and three other U.S. citizens were released in exchange for the release of seven Iranians who were accused or convicted of sanctions violations.

The series faced some criticism from the government and the Foreign Ministry, which were portrayed as uninformed, neutral and westernophile organizations in the production.

The 10th edition of the Ammar Popular Film Festival honored the crew of “Gando” during a ceremony in January.

Photo: Actor Payam Dehkordi portrays Jason Rezaian in the Iranian TV series “Gando”.

RM/MMS/YAW