Director: Hassan Fathi
Cast: Payman Maadi, Parinaz Izadyar, Babak Hamidian, Ali Mosaffa, Gohar Kheyrandish
Azaazil is a 2025 Iranian crime thriller series directed by Hassan Fathi, following a physician drawn into a web of vanishings and secrets that stretch far beyond a single missing neighbor. Dark, methodical, and anchored in a morally ambiguous investigation, the series signals a bold new chapter in Persian genre television.
What is Azaazil about?
Dr. Shoka Mehrjui is looking forward to celebrating his wife's birthday when the evening takes an unsettling turn — one of the neighbors disappears under unexplained circumstances. What first appears to be an isolated incident catches the attention of Major Behrouz Sharifi, a tenacious investigator who begins to sense a pattern beneath the surface. As Sharifi pulls at each thread, the case grows stranger and more layered, connecting seemingly unrelated people across different walks of life. The inquiry pushes both men into territory where the evidence defies simple explanation and every answer raises two new questions. Azaazil builds its tension slowly and deliberately, rewarding patience with a mystery that refuses to settle into familiar shapes.
Cast & crew
Director Hassan Fathi, known for his precise handling of dramatic material in Iranian television, leads an exceptionally strong ensemble. Payman Maadi and Parinaz Izadyar anchor the drama with quiet intensity, while Babak Hamidian, Ali Mosaffa, Gohar Kheyrandish, Behrang Alavi, Babak Karimi, and Mohammad Bahrani round out the cast with seasoned, nuanced performances that give the story its emotional weight.
Context & significance
Iranian genre television has been on a sustained creative rise, and Azaazil arrives as one of its most ambitious entries. For the diaspora viewer, the series offers something genuinely rare: a Persian-language thriller that trusts its audience with moral complexity and an unhurried pace rather than formula. Hassan Fathi's direction draws on the tradition of literary Iranian crime fiction while pushing the form toward psychological unease. Watching a production of this caliber in the original language, surrounded by familiar landscapes and speech patterns, carries a distinct resonance for Iranians living abroad — it is a reminder of the storytelling richness that remains very much alive.
Where & how to watch
Azaazil is available on K-Time with original Persian audio and English subtitles. Stream it on the web, your TV, or your phone — no VPN needed, no geo-blocking, and you can cancel anytime.