“Magnificent Century” continues: the secret of the popularity of Turkish TV series
April 10, 2022
MOSCOW, October 4 – Novosti, Anna Nekhaeva. Turkish TV series are loved because they have picturesque views of the Bosphorus, beautiful women, oriental exoticism – but at the same time for a completely European mentality and unpredictable intrigues. This is a fairy tale about reality that can become a kind of emotional vacation. About the key topics and components of the success of such projects – in the material of Novosti.
Serial therapy
“Turkish TV series are ideal for background viewing without interruption from household chores,” notes more.tv content director Ksenia Savelyeva. “They do not have depressive moods, and they even have a slight therapeutic effect, especially in anxious times.”
Interest arose back in the USSR, when the film adaptation of Reshad Nuri Gyuntekin’s novel “Korolok – a singing bird” became a hit. It seems that everyone watched the difficult love story of Feride and her cousin Kamran against the background of the First World War and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
The popularity of the saga was so great that the work was re-shot again and again. The latest version was released in 2013.
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Today, Turkey is in second place after the United States in terms of the export of television content. The series is sold in more than 140 countries around the world, they bring hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. And a significant market share is occupied by Russia.
“Despite the apparent cultural differences, Turkey is a very close country for Russians,” the Ivy press service says. “It has been and remains a bright, colorful and accessible fairy tale. According to our research, one of the key reasons for watching content in Russia – the desire to have fun and take a break from everyday problems.
Turkish film plots differ from Russian and American ones in their exoticism, but at the same time naturalness. They are bright and understandable, as they touch on the topics of family, love, fidelity, career, choice.
“These are not soap operas, not telenovelas or historical dramas – these are dizi (from the Turkish dizi – series. – Approx. ed.),” a genre in progress, ” explains Arzu Ozturkmen, a professor at the University of Istanbul.
Dizi, which even those who are not familiar with Turkish television products know about, is “The Magnificent Age” – a series about the love of Sultan Suleiman and the Slavic slave Roksolana. The epic of four seasons and almost 140 episodes impresses with the richness of costumes and scenery – not the last arguments in favor of viewing.
The budget of one such project usually exceeds several million dollars.
“In addition to a beautiful picture – and the Turks have a great one – the audience appreciates what is sometimes lacking in modern Western content: tear-jerking drama, vivid emotions, family values,” Anastasia Batsuyeva, Marketing Director of Start, lists. others: they don’t try to imitate the Western or European industry, they do everything differently, and this approach has its own audience.”
For example, “Forbidden Love” is a kind of local “Anna Karenina”. The heroine Bihter marries an aging millionaire. She plans an ideal family life, but falls in love with her husband’s nephew. The melodrama tells about an unequal marriage, passions, betrayals and intrigues. The series was shown in 20 countries around the world, and remakes of the project were filmed in the USA, India and Romania.
The plot of “Cinderella” – in the series “Number 309”. The plot tells about the flower seller Lala and the rich heir Onura. They go on a blind date, but not with each other, due to misunderstandings they accidentally get to know each other – and they start an affair.
Turkish showrunners show the experiences of the characters as clearly as possible, forcing them to be included in the story from the first scenes.
As in the project “Black Love”. Nihan, a girl from a wealthy family, and Kemal, the son of a simple hairdresser, collide on the bus and fall in love. They do not care about social inequality, but Nihan’s parents do not approve of the union and intend to find a better match for their daughter.
The series with views of the strait and Istanbul sights became the first Turkish TV project to receive an Emmy. It was sold to be shown in 60 countries.
Dizi stretch for tens or even hundreds of episodes, the duration of each sometimes reaches two to two and a half hours. A feature and one of the reasons for success is a kind of flirting with the audience. After each series, the authors carefully study the ratings and reviews in social networks. Depending on the responses, right during the filming, the plot and the actors’ lines are sometimes changed.
Although this approach may seem far-fetched and devoid of the author’s message, in the end the content serves the interests of the target audience.
Turkish directors work in all genres: from rom-coms to thrillers and from costume sagas to horror.
The main thing is that the project should have a fascinating universal plot that can unfold anywhere. Another important fact is that there are no explicit scenes and truly cruel content in dizi.
“Melodramas and romantic comedies are genres that are rarely seen in American and European producers,” says Elvira Dmitrievskaya, deputy general director for content at Okko online cinema. “Turkish companies have them in leading positions. Another reason for their popularity is the absence in most cases of forbidden for children. Series can be played in the background, do household chores and not be afraid that the child will notice something inappropriate for age. “
Even the intriguing “Cruel Istanbul” can be watched by everyone. In the series, the wealthy Karachay family settled a girl from a poor family in their house. They plan to marry her to the nephew of the head of the family Agah Nedima, who is confined to a wheelchair. But the heroine accidentally meets Agah’s son Cenk, and he falls in love with her.
The lines of characters in “Knock on My Door” are no less difficult to intertwine. The series is about another flower girl named Eda. She is forced to pretend to be the fiancee of a wealthy businessman, Serkan, in order to get a long-awaited scholarship. Here, too, there were some unexpected discoveries and transformations of characters.
“Turkish TV series are always a beautiful fairy tale. The authors create a magical atmosphere with beautiful characters, their relationships, vivid love stories, interiors and exteriors,” Kion notes. “The viewer wants to get into this atmosphere and become a part of it, being temporarily distracted from worries and routines. A Turkish series is a kind of emotional vacation.”
Perhaps this is the secret ingredient that Western content lacks.
