Popular Turkish TV series a mix of commentary, propaganda
Popular Turkish TV series a mix of commentary, propaganda

Popular Turkish TV series a mix of commentary, propaganda

Turkish television series have been exported to more than 170 countries, raking in hundreds of millions of dollars. Not only are they a global export hit, they also influence public opinion and spread ideological values.

About 60 men, women and children stand in front of the wide marble staircase in the art nouveau-styled Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul, admiring the 130-year-old electric elevator as it transports guests up to their rooms. A bellhop asks the group if they’re waiting for a tour, and learns that some of the visitors have come all the way from Spain.

“Of course, since the series was released, we’ve had visitors from across the globe,” he said. Many come to witness the magnificent filming location, he added, and delve into its rich history.

The series he’s talking about is a Turkish time-travel show named “Midnight at the Pera Palace,” inspired by Charles King’s book of the same title. It has been available on Netflix since March 2022.

The story begins with a journalist named Esra, who is looking to write an article about the grand hotel that first opened its doors in 1895 and since then welcomed guests like Agatha Christie, Alfred Hitchcock, Greta Garbo and Ernest Hemingway.

The hotel manager Ahmet tells Esra, the story’s heroine, a secret: One of the splendid building’s old room keys is a time-traveling portal. Esra travels back to the year 1919 and learns about an international conspiracy, in which a British officer plans to assassinate the founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. This plan must be stopped at all costs, and so begins the historical drama in Istanbul’s European district.

Turkish series sold in over 170 countries

Turkish television shows have been becoming global hits since the mid-2000s. According to the Turkish Exporters Assembly, 170 countries buy up Turkish series each year. In 2023, these productions are said to have racked up about $600 million (€575 million) in exports. Last year, this figure was estimated to be in the billions.

Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat has said that worldwide, some 800 million viewers watch Turkish shows at any one time.

The success story began with the melodrama “Gumus” (“Silver”), the soap opera “1001 Nights,” the crime thriller “Ezel” and the action series “Black Money Love.” The first takers were Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, soon to be followed by Arabic-speaking countries, Latin America, the Balkans, Russia and Europe.

Parrot Analytics, a leading entertainment analysis company, estimates that between 2000 and 2023, global demand for Turkish television series rose by 184%.

Romance and social commentary

The Turkish state agency for monitoring broadcasts, the Radio and Television Supreme Council, has said that countrywide, viewers watch about four hours of television every day — and especially series broadcast during prime evening viewing hours. Over 70% of all Turkish households have subscriptions to streaming services.

The selection of shows on offer is vast: From romance and comedy to historical and social dramas. But, the more revealing and critical the show, the more likely it is to find itself in the crosshairs of Turkey’s judicial system.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made no secret of not being a fan of such shows. He’s even gone so far as to call such productions anti-Islamic and a threat to national security, said Hakki Tas, a research fellow at Hamburg’s GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies. Tas added that Erdogan usually follows up such criticism by imposing penalties.

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