Booming Turkish TV drama industry captures hearts and minds worldwide and boosts tourism

ISTANBUL -- Under the sweltering Turkish sun, tourists wander through sets that recreate Ottoman and Byzantine-era castles, take selfies with actors in traditional Ottoman costumes and watch horseback stunt performances. Among them is Riia Toivanen, 22, a devoted fan of Turkish television drama who traveled to Istanbul from Finland with her mother to delve into the realm of her beloved shows.

Some 8,000 miles (12,800 kilometers) across the globe in Villa Carlos Paz in Argentina, 66-year-old retired teacher Raquel Greco watches an episode of a Turkish romantic comedy, surrounded by memorabilia from her once-in-a-lifetime trip to Istanbul where she visited landmarks she knew from years of watching Turkish shows.

“It seemed to me that I was dreaming, I couldn't believe I was living what I saw every day in the series,” she said of her visit in April this year.

The global popularity of Turkish TV dramas -- or dizi in Turkish -- has thrust Turkey into the position of a leading exporter of television, greatly bolstering the nation’s international image and drawing millions of viewers and tourists worldwide to its historical and cultural sites which are backdrops to many of the shows.

The success of television shows has fueled a burgeoning billion-dollar industry that continues to expand into new markets, experts say. The popularity of these shows is also greatly enhancing Turkey’s soft power on a global scale.

Between 2020 and 2023, the global demand for Turkish series increased by 184%, positioning Turkey as one of the biggest exporters of TV shows around the world, according to Parrot Analytics, a research company.

“We reach over 400 million viewers every night around the world,” said Izzet Pinto, CEO of Global Agency, which exports Turkish dramas to world markets. “The soft power we create with Turkish dramas cannot be even compared to what could be done in politics."

Although “Deli Yurek” was the first Turkish series to be exported — to Kazakhstan in 2001 — it was the 2005 romantic series “Gumus” that catapulted Turkish dizis to global fame. The series, which revolves around a woman from a traditional background adapting to urban life, became immensely popular in the Middle East.

“A Thousand and One Nights,” a 2006 romantic drama loosely based on the collection of Middle Eastern folktales and set in modern-day Istanbul, captivated audiences in the Balkans. "Magnificent Century," based on the 16th-century Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent, led the way for historical fiction.

Once an importer of Latin American telenovelas, Turkey is now exporting its dramas to the region. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro visited the set of the historical drama series “Resurrection: Ertugrul” in 2018, highlighting the appeal of the dizi in his nation.

Haley Uganadi, the founder of the Turkish TV series fan platform “Dizilah,” says the popularity of the dramas comes from themes that focus on family, friendship, and love, usually set against the backdrop of luxurious lifestyles in Istanbul or Turkey's rich history.

“They offer something for everyone, regardless of where you are from. Watching Turkish dramas, I see reflections of my mom, myself, and my siblings,” Uganadi said.

Her platform receives about 1.5 million viewers monthly, with fans from the United States, Canada, Greece, India, and Pakistan.

Pinto points to the family-oriented nature of Turkish dramas. “There’s no nudity, no cursing or bad words, not much hate. So, this becomes watchable by the family,” he explains.

As the industry grows, it is expanding the themes of its series, such as “Red Roses,” which explores the dynamics between a staunchly secular Western-oriented family and a fictional Islamic brotherhood.

During a lull in filming, actor Ozcan Deniz, who previously starred in series such as “The Mansion with Vines” and “Bride of Istanbul,” said this diversification was essential if the industry is to flourish.

“Countries that were not able to transform (into) a different genre are now lagging behind in the export of series,” Deniz said. “Turkey has now caught this momentum, but if it cannot diversify, if it cannot also tell different things, it will end somewhere.”

Toivanen and her mother were touring Bozdag Film Studios, a vast complex in northern Istanbul, where historical Ottoman-era blockbusters like “Resurrection: Ertugrul” and “Foundation: Osman” were shot.

Toivanen says her love of the romantic dramas “Black Money Love” and “Endless Love” brought her to Istanbul. “I like Turkish culture very much,” she said. ”(The series are) very friendly and warm, and there is a lot of drama going on.”

The first episode of “Resurrection: Ertugrul” had over 157 million views on the Urdu-language YouTube channel of Turkish state broadcaster TRT, said producer and screenwriter Mehmet Bozdag, who created the popular historical dramas that fictionalize the lives of Ottoman leaders and heroes. “Foundation: Osman” was broadcast in over 110 countries, he said.

During its run, “Resurrection: Ertugrul” peaked as the fourth most in-demand show worldwide in May 2020, with demand more than 68 times that of the average show worldwide, according to Parrot Analytics.

Dr. Deniz Gurgen Atalay, assistant professor of film and TV at Bahcesehir University in Istanbul, cited Turkish media as saying the industry generated $1 billion in 2023 from overseas exports and has an important impact on tourism, especially in Istanbul.

“The TV series sector has a huge share in this. The image of Istanbul presented by the series, the food eaten here, the drinks drunk, the music listened to, the living standards, and the culture here offer a very pleasant place of appreciation within the framework of the series,.” Atalay said.

Mert Yazicioglu, another star of “Red Roses,” whose eagerly anticipated second season is set to premiere in late September, was clad in the attire of his character, a member of an Islamic sect, when he took a break from filming to chat.

The series has propelled the soft-spoken 31-year-old to stardom, with Turkey’s media tracking his every footstep.

“We have introduced Turkish culture abroad. That makes us very happy,” he said, wearing his character's baggy beige trousers and matching waistcoat.

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Associated Press journalists Hernan Munoz in Barcelona, Spain, Mario Tizon in Los Cocos, Argentina, Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, and Khalil Hamra and Mehmet Guzel in Istanbul, Turkey, contributed to this report.