The Economist: Türkiye is a major TV series exporter

According to The Economist, the new favorite of Turkish people is the series Gaddar, starring the famous actor Çağatay Ulusoy.

Writing that Turkish series are popular not only in the Middle East but also in Europe and Latin America, The Economist noted that the three largest importers of new Turkish series last year were Spain, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

The magazine also investigated the reasons why Turkish series are watched so much abroad. According to The Economist, the primary reason is that the series are visually appealing.

In other words, the scenery, luxurious costumes, and handsome actors increase the viewership ratings of the series.

On the other hand, Arab viewers appreciate that Turkish series portray Muslims as heroes, rather than as "terrorists" or "taxi drivers" as Hollywood often does.

'UNNECESSARY SEX SCENES ARE REPLACED'

Another factor cited by The Economist for the preference for Turkish series is censorship. Reminding that alcoholic beverages in the series are blurred and sex scenes are banned, the magazine wrote, "Censorship forces directors to be creative and can even heighten sexual tension for viewers." Citing the series Erkenci Kuş as an example, the magazine emphasized that "longing glances and lingering touches replace unnecessary sex scenes."

Writing that Abby Jimenez, author of the New York Times bestselling novel "Yours Truly," based her story on the series Sen Çal Kapımı, The Economist commented, "Some viewers seem happy to take a break from the sex and violence of Western television."

Writing that Spanish viewers are interested in the high production values of Turkish series, the magazine claimed that Latin American series "look cheap," which is why the magnificent visuals in Turkish series attract attention.

THE LENGTH OF TURKISH SERIES ON THE AGENDA

Although series in Turkey are broadcast once a week as a single piece, they are divided into parts when sold to foreign countries and are sometimes broadcast daily. According to The Economist, television distributor İzzet Pinto says that Korean series are good but only last for 13 hours of advertising time. Turkish series, on the other hand, can extend up to approximately 200 hours.

According to Parrot Analytics, in May 2020, during COVID-19, the series Diriliş Ertuğrul became the fourth most in-demand series worldwide.

The then-Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, praised the program for "reflecting Islamic values," and a statue of Ertuğrul was erected in Lahore.

The Urdu-dubbed version of the series' pilot episode reached 153 million views on YouTube.

THE CLUB SERIES ALSO FEATURED

Writing that in addition to television series, series produced for digital platforms also attract attention, The Economist also featured the series Kulüp (The Club). The series was described as follows:

"The series tells the story of the pogroms against minorities in Istanbul in the 1950s. To put it mildly, it is a politically sensitive subject..."