Dana Eden, the 52-year-old co-creator of the hit Israeli spy series Tehran, has been found dead in a hotel room in Athens, where the fourth season of the show was being filmed. Greek police reported that she was discovered by her brother on Sunday and attributed her death to suicide.
Donna and Shula Productions, the international production company founded by Eden, described her death as 'a moment of great sorrow for the family, friends, and colleagues'. The company also took the unusual step of ruling out 'a criminal or nationalistic-related death', dismissing rumours of a possible link to Iran as 'not true and are unfounded'.
Greek police have launched an official inquiry, taking testimony from hotel staff and ordering security camera footage. However, police spokesperson Constantina Dimoglidou appeared to rule out foul play, stating that Eden's brother had mentioned she was on medication for a condition that had previously required hospitalisation.
Eden, an award-winning TV executive who won an Emmy for producing Tehran on Apple TV, had been in Athens since 4 February working on the latest season. Israel's public broadcaster KAN expressed sadness, noting that Eden 'played a central role in creating and leading some of the corporation's most prominent productions'.
Tehran, starring Niv Sultan as a Mossad agent infiltrating Iran, has been praised for its realistic portrayal of Israeli intelligence. The series, which featured Glenn Close in its second season, has been criticised by the Iranian regime as Zionist propaganda. The fourth season was financed by Apple TV in December.
