Every New Year’s Eve, Turks reminisce about the early 2000s and its classics. Rightly so, if there was something special about the 2000s, it was its legendary Turkish TV series. We all loved those series and they are still being watched in Turkey and abroad to this day, with many of them holding loyal fan bases on social media. So, let’s go down memory lane to remember some of the most beloved series in Turkish television, shall we?
Hatırla Sevgili (2006 – 2008)
The plot of this series consists of the catastrophic political environment of the 1960s and 70s and a love affair between two young people whose families are political rivals. Şevket and Rıza are old buddies who later on found themselves on different political paths, one turning into a leftist lawyer and the other becoming a right-wing politician. In the series, Rıza’s daughter Yasemin and Şevket’s son Ahmet meet by chance, and they fall head over heels in love with one another.
Meanwhile, coups and the execution of the famous Turkish politician Adnan Menderes take place in the backdrop, as we watch these two families struggling with the political tension of the era. Many loved this series because the protagonists’ love for one another was so beautifully naive, and the cast consisted of A class actors. Plus there is a lot to learn on issues from the 1970s.
Want to watch the first episode of Hatırla Sevgili? Click here.
Yabancı Damat (2004 – 2007)
The series Yabancı Damat made us all want to grab a box of baklava from the store around the corner! In the series, the main location is Gaziantep, the city famous for its marvelous traditional Turkish dessert, baklava.
Nazlı is a Turkish girl living in Gaziantep with her traditional, conservative family. Niko is a handsome Greek boy from Greece with an Orthodox background. When Nazlı wants to escape from her day-to-day life and find a new adventure in Muğla, the Turkish province bordering Greece, she stumbles into Niko. It is love-at-first-sight, yet their love affair quickly encounters serious challenges. One family is a traditional Greek Orthodox family, the other is a conservative Turkish family that practices Islam and would never allow their daughter to marry outside their belief system. In the story of Niko and Nazlı, the show navigates between the complexities of the various prejudices and similarities of their two eternal cultures. It definitely had a sweet family vibe to it, and that’s why it lasted pretty long and gained tremendous popularity not only among Turks, but also Greeks.
Avrupa Yakası (2004 – 2009)
This is an amazing Turkish sitcom that still has loyal fans, like yours truly. Aslı Sütçüoğlu, the protagonist, is a modern, attractive Turkish woman living with her traditional, crazy parents and her lost-cause brother Volkan. She works at Avrupa Yakası, a fashion magazine with lots of colorful characters like the fashion photographer Yaprak, the editor Fatoş, and the office-boy Şesu. In general, the series involves lots of contrasts: Aslı’s parents with outdated values trying to find a good-mannered husband for their daughter versus Aslı who is trying to get more independent like her posh Nişantaşı friends. All characters in the show conflict with themselves, creating a ridiculously funny show that should be seen by all comedy lovers.
Want to watch the first episode of Avrupa Yakası? Click here.
Sihirli Annem (2003 – 2012)
Sihirli Annem was one of the best Turkish shows aimed for kids, and as a child of the era, I loved watching it. In the series, the main character Betüş who is a half-fairy half-human female marries Sadık, a widow of two kids. The family doesn’t know that she has special powers and that her parents live in a fairy castle in the skies. Shortly after their marriage, the kids come to accept and love Betüş as their stepmother as she is so caring and warm.
Betüş’s family is also worth mentioning as she has a fairy sister called Eda and a barking human-father who was transformed into a dog by her fairy mother Dudu as a punishment. The series involves lots of absurd situations resulting from the clash of the fairy world and the human world, as Betüş is trying her best to hide her true identity.
Want to watch the first episode of Sihirli Annem? Click here.
Ayrılsak Da Beraberiz (1999 – 2004)
This series depicts the life of a young, divorced pair who continues to live in the same house, divided by a huge folding screen in the living room because they can’t decide who gets the house after the divorce. Berna and Teoman both have crazy mothers and friends who influence their decisions on divorce and as they continue to live as a couple, they can’t help but realize that they are still madly in love with each other and are separated only because they are under the influence of their surroundings.
Along with the protagonists, the rest of the characters invite you for a good laugh, ranging from Berna’s best friend Serpil who is looking for a sugar daddy and Teoman’s best friend Feridun who constantly has new startup ideas only to go bankrupt miserably every time.
All in all, these series listed above shaped the trends of the 2000s and entertained Turks throughout that period, and even nowadays they continue to amuse their loyal fans. If any of them struck your fancy, give them a try and comment below which ones you like the most!
If you have a favorite show from the 2000s, please let us know in the comments below!
