About 60 women, men and children stand in front of the wide marble staircase of the Pera Pallas hotel in Istanbul.

The 130-year-old Art Nouveau hotel became known worldwide by the series “Midnight in Pera Pallas” and is based on the book of the same name by the American author Charles King.

The series plays on Netflix from March 2022. The story begins with journalist Esra, who wants to write an article about the hotel, which opened in 1895 and has hosted internationally famous personalities such as Agatha Christie, Alfred Hitchcock, Greta Garbo and Ernest Hemingway.

Turkish series have been booming since the mid-2000s and are sold in 170 countries every year. The productions had a turnover of around 600 million. dollars in 2023 and is estimated to exceed 1 billion in 2024. According to Turkish Trade Minister Emer Bolat, 800 million TV viewers around the world watch Turkish series.

This success story began with series such as: ‘Silver’, ‘1001 Nights’, ‘Ezel’, ‘The Magnificent Century’ and ‘Black Money Love’. The first customers were Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Arabic-speaking countries, Latin America, the Balkans, Russia and Europe followed shortly after.

Romantic dramas and social criticism

More than 70% of households have a subscription to streaming services, while they watch TV for about four hours every day. The variety is great: from love stories and comedies to historical and social dramas.

However, there is also the political dimension of the matter. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan does not hide that he does not appreciate the series. Erdogan has even characterized such productions as a threat to national security and criticized them as Islamophobic, recalls political scientist Haki Tas from the Leibniz Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA) in Hamburg.

A year ago, DW reported on the broadcast ban and fine imposed on the series “Red Flowers”, which deals with the deep divide between secular and religious groups. In particular, the broadcast of the series was banned for two weeks and a fine of 275,000 euros was imposed on the relevant channel.

More than business

However, the Turkish government has an ambivalent relationship with the TV series. It also uses them as a propaganda platform with the aim of influencing public opinion. While private productions come under increasing pressure, the state invests massively in its own productions. Every year, state television TRT produces series that convey the history and “values ​​of the Turkish nation” from an Islamic-conservative perspective. For example “The resurrection of Ertuğrul”. The series tells the life of the Turkish tribal leader Ertuğrul in the 13th century.

Also, television series are used to discredit critics of the regime. A case in point was the production on state television TRT of the series “Transformation”, in which businessman and human rights activist Osman Kavala, who has been in prison for eight years, was presented as an enemy of the state.

According to political scientist Haki Tas, the Turkish government is trying to impose a way of life according to the standards of the ruling AKP party. After the success of the opposition in the local elections a year ago, this trend has become even more evident, the political scientist underlines.

Edited by: Maria Rigoutsou