Our Five Favourite Contemporary Turkish TV Shows (Plus One Movie)

As you may remember from Norway, we like to throw ourselves into cultures of the places we live. And that includes watching TV shows and movies about them. We’re not sure how indicative these are – there seem to be a bunch of historical melodramas out there that we’ve given a miss. But we can say that everything we’ve seen is a little wacky. Here are five TV shows and one movie we’ve been enjoying, all of them fairly recent (but a couple taking advantage of Istanbul history).

The Life and Times of Erşan Kuneri

A 1970’s porn star gets out of prison (we think – otherwise we don’t get the first scene…) and dedicates himself to making meaningful films. These include historical period pieces, dramas, political films, horror, and an anti-drug movie. Only he doesn’t really know what he’s doing, so they are mostly terrible. The first half of each hour-long episode gives the backstory for the new genre, and the second half is the movie itself. The two are not always well-stitched together, but we love the spoof ‘movies’ and the star (a well-known Turkish comedian) and supporting cast are excellent together. Because a number of the characters are porn actors, sex jokes abound. Our very favourite episodes are the horror movie and the superhero movie (2 and 6-7). There are eight episodes, and it’s available on Netflix. A second season is in the works!

Kedi

This is a 2016 documentary, just under an hour and a half long, about the stray cats of Istanbul, seven in particular, following them around the city. It’s hard to track down, but worth it if you are a cat person. Actually, it’s probably worth it even if you are not: these cats are pretty darn cute. And the cat’s eye views of Istanbul give you a real sense of the sheer enormity and complexity of the city.

Midnight at the Pera Palace Hotel

This Netflix recent release is a historical drama/thriller, featuring a journalist who travels (accidentally) through time, as one does. She goes to the Pera Palace Hotel in 1919 and – in a typical time-travel scenario – meets her doppelganger. Who is then murdered. Obviously, our heroine has to impersonate her, not least because the dead woman is key to saving the life of Atatürk and securing the independence of Turkey. As if that were not enough, it also solves the mystery of Agatha Christie’s missing eleven days (she also went back in time – I can’t believe we didn’t think of that!). Great fun, featuring gorgeous sets and excellent cast. At only eight episodes (so far), it might be our very favourite. You won’t want to miss this one!

The Gift

Also on Netflix, three seasons, adapted from a novel. Excellent beginning, plus archaeology! This one is about a painter who has nightmares and keeps painting the same image, which coincidentally, an archaeologist discovers at an ancient site. At first, he thinks she’s crazy (men!…). But then, aided by the diaries of his archaeologist father, he realises she’s on to something, like the wisdom of the ancients. Also, they fall in love. Seasons 2 and 3 get much weirder, with alternate realities, gods, and supernatural children. The acting is pretty good, so mostly we don’t mind.

The Magnificent Century

This is one of those TV shows that requires serious commitment. But we think it’s worth it (where is a lockdown when you need one?), and it will get you right up to speed on one of the most significant eras of Ottoman history. Set during the reign of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, this soap opera/drama focuses on his governance but especially on private life in the harem. Set mostly in Topkapı Palace, it is a stunning historical drama unfolding over 139 episodes (running from 90 to 150 minutes). Yes; you read that right: he was an important guy and a lot happened during his reign. It follows history pretty accurately, although of course it adds a lot to make things more colourful. Because this is Turkey, sex scenes are understated. You won’t miss them though: there’s so much else going on, like fabulous jewels and poison and twins and wildly complicated subplots. Available to watch on YouTube, episode by episode (with ads). (And no, we haven’t finished yet, but we are making serious progress…)

TV Shows We Have Not Seen

There are a few tv shows we haven’t seen yet. ‘Black Money Love’ looks great, but we’re already committed to one outsized Turkish drama, and it will last us a while. This one is contemporary, starting with two dead people in a car who shouldn’t be there together. Their loved ones (daughter and fiancé) get together to solve the mystery, which involves them in increasing amounts of danger. We’re pretty sure we’ll get to this one, though, because it features one of our favourite characters from Magnificent Century, the Valide.

We have also heard good things about two movies, ‘The Girl with the Red Scarf’ (1977) and ‘Head On’ (2004). The former is a romance, the latter a drama about drug addiction, mental illness, and the treatment of women. And we’re very keen to watch the coming-of-age Yusuf trilogy (‘Egg’, ‘Milk’, and ‘Honey’, from 2004-10).