Dana Eden, a co-creator and producer of the Apple TV show “Tehran,” was found dead Sunday in Athens, Greece, where the show’s fourth season was being filmed, according to the Greek police.

Eden was found by her brother in a hotel room in Athens, the police said.

“We mourn the passing of our colleague and partner in a long series of productions, series, and programs at the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation,” Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster, said in a statement.

Eden, 52, was in Greece to oversee the filming of the newest season of “Tehran,” the global espionage thriller that was renewed for a fourth season by Apple TV in December, according to Kan.

A spokesperson for Apple TV said in an email that the company was “deeply saddened” by Eden’s death. “Dana’s vision, dedication and leadership were instrumental in shaping ‘Tehran’ into the globally acclaimed series it is today,” the statement said.

Eden’s brother told the Greek police that his sister had been on medication and had been hospitalized in the past, said Constantina Dimoglidou, a police spokesperson. She added that the evidence found in Eden’s hotel room seemed to rule out foul play.

Some reports in Israeli media said the Greek police were investigating a possible link to Iran, but Eden’s production company strongly condemned those reports. “Rumors about criminal death or about a national background are not true and are not grounded,” Donna and Shula Productions, the company Eden ran with producer Shula Spiegel, said in a statement. “We call on the media and the public to refrain from publishing unverified assumptions, and to behave responsibly and sensibly.”

Eden was a driving force behind multiple critically acclaimed Israeli shows. But she was best known globally for her involvement in “Tehran,” which was picked up by Apple TV in June 2020 after originally being developed for Kan in Israel.

The show follows a character named Tamar Rabinyan, an Iranian-born, Israeli-raised spy who is sent back into Iran on her first deep-cover mission to help coordinate an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear program. In 2021, the show won an International Emmy Award for best drama series.

“I want to say that ‘Tehran’ is not only an espionage series, it’s also about understanding the human behind your enemy,” Eden said in her acceptance speech. “We’re doing it every day on our set.”

On the show, Israelis and Iranians worked together, Eden said.

“We found out that we have a lot in common,” she said. “I think it gives hope for the future, and I hope that we can walk together, the Iranians and the Israelis, in Jerusalem and in Tehran as friends and not as enemies.”

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Claire Moses
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