While it’s safe to say that Turkish TV series have always been widely popular domestically, recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the global popularity of Turkish contemporary television. Despite this, if you ask most Turks, they will admit that the old series were much better than those of today. While this might be nostalgia talking, I can’t help but agree that the series back in early 2000s were the best, portraying the modern face of Turkey and strong, unbreakable family ties with a pinch of romanticism sprinkled on top. If you don’t believe me, here are some of the most loved and watched Turkish TV series of the early 2000s for you to decide for yourselves. Of course, they’re also a great way to practice your Turkish.
7 Numara (2000) IMDB
Four city girls and three country boys move to Istanbul to study, sharing a house together along with the landlords – an elderly couple. They laugh, cry, fight, and try their best to get on well with each other, only to realize they are slowly turning into an inseparable family over time.
Çarli İş Başında (2000) IMDB
It might come as a shock but the protagonist of this early 2000s TV series is a monkey named Çarli (Charlie). Talat Sanal is an ordinary father of two, living in Istanbul with his family. His rich uncle living in the States dies and in his will, he states Talat should take care of his one and only son, Çarli. Talat accepts to take care of Çarli at his uncle’s request, but to his surprise, it turns out Çarli is a monkey. Not just an ordinary monkey though, his biggest passion is to drink beer, smoke and, support Fenerbahçe. This outside the box series will melt your heart.
Tatlı Hayat (2001) IMDB
If you are looking for quality comedy with absurd depictions of Turkish family life, you should absolutely check out Tatlı Hayat. With the rise of İhsan Yıldırım’s dry-cleaning business, the Yıldırım family becomes ultra rich and they decide to move into a residence in Etiler where they can build strong ties with the elite. Life in a residence among the elite however, has its own surprises for the Yıldırım’s. Especially when their son decides to get married to the Greek-Turkish girl next door.
Dadı (2001) IMDB
Melek has dreams to get married to her long-term boyfriend someday. Yet fate has its own plans for her. After breaking up with him and losing her job, she stumbles upon the rich widow Ömer Giritli and takes on the position of nanny to his three children. With no experience in child-care, she starts to discover a whole new world of uptown life with kids and a rich husband material who she finds herself slowly falling in love with.
Asmalı Konak (2002) IMDB
Bahar is the daughter of a bureaucrat in Istanbul. She meets Seymen just when she is about to finish her degree in New York. The two fall in love in the blink of an eye and decide to get married. They return to the hometown of Seymen, Cappadocia, where Seymen’s family lives in a house named Asmalı Konak. This is where everything starts and ends for Bahar and Seymen. Portraying the life of a mid-Anatolian family, this drama was a hit among viewers even long after its finale.
Çocuklar Duymasın (2002) IMDB
This popular Turkish series lasted a whopping 12 years, slowly carving the characters into the hearts of the viewers. Çocuklar Duymasın is the story of a typical middle-income family with two kids, living in Istanbul. The chief of the household, Haluk, is the classic representation of a traditional family father who is tough and anti-romantic; whereas the mother Meltem is modern and a hopeless romantic. Their daily interactions as a family, with their relatives and neighbors, portray the classic Turkish lifestyle in the 2000s.
En Son Babalar Duyar (2002) IMDB
Another family comedy is En Son Babalar Duyar, literally meaning fathers hear about the news last. Parallel to its name, fathers of these families are always the last people to learn the secrets, gossip and adventures going on among family. The poor guys are always being lied to and manipulated to believe that there is no problem, whereas the biggest problem they have is the mundane matters of day-to-day life. This sweet drama portrays the life of a Turkish family in an era of economic upheaval.
Ekmek Teknesi (2002) IMDB
Nusret’s family has been running a bakery in the neighborhood for more than three generations. The story of Ekmek Teknesi is all about Nusret, his wife, and five beautiful daughters and their daily life filled with lots of laughter. Having no son to manage the bakery after his death, Nusret struggles to find a solution to keep his family business up. It is a heartwarming comedy portraying the obsession with male children in Turkish society.
Hayat Bilgisi (2003) IMDB
Afet Hoca is the teacher of Rıdvan Kanat High School in Istanbul, responsible for teaching the science of “life” to her students. Her students, on the other hand, have one or two things to teach her in return, like the importance of strong friendships and love. If you are into high school dramas, this is the best of its genre.
Bir İstanbul Masalı (2003) IMDB
The love triangle of two rich brothers Selim and Demir Arhan and their beautiful servant Esma is like a roller coaster that has no end. The story of Bir İstanbul Masalı, literally a Tale of Istanbul, portrays the two different lifestyles and set of values of Turkish society: the rich and the poor.
Kurtlar Vadisi (2003) IMDB
Kurtlar Vadisi, literally the Valley of Wolves, tells the gripping story of a mafia group trying to take over the country and the ones who resist them. Polat who was raised especially to get involved with this mafia by climbing up the ladder to the top will do his best to save the country.
Yabancı Damat (2004) IMDB
Similar to Tatlı Hayat, Yabancı Damat, literally the foreign groom, tells the story of a love that transcends the notion of nationality. Niko wants to get married to Nazlı, yet they have a problem: Niko is Greek and Nazlı’s family are strong Turkish nationalists. The struggle is real yet both Nazlı and Niko shows us all how love can overcome anything.
Cennet Mahallesi (2004) IMDB
One of a kind, this drama portrays the slums of Istanbul. Cennet Mahallesi, literally Paradise Quarter, depicts the obscure life of Romans in Turkey that are mainly seen on street corners selling flowers but neglected by society.
Avrupa Yakası (2004) IMDB
Avrupa Yakası is a sitcom about the Sütçüoğlu family who lives in Nişantaşı, a neighborhood where elites reside. It mocks the “white Turks”, a term used for the urban population that embraces progressive, secular, Western, republican values. The series lasted for six seasons and was centered around unforgettable characters such as Burhan Altıntop, an Anatolian man who moved to Istanbul in hopes of becoming adapted to a posh city life.
Aliye (2004) IMDB
Finding out she is being cheated on by her husband with a younger and more beautiful girl, Aliye takes her two kids and moves in with her uncle. Her husband, however, will not stop making life hard for Aliye, in hopes of gaining custody of their children. Aliye portrays the devotion of a Turkish mother to her children and what sacrifices she is capable of for the sake of keeping them around.
Yaprak Dökümü (2006) IMDB
The story of the decline of a happy family as children grow and choose their own paths in life. Ali Rıza Bey is a proud father of four living in İstanbul. His son Fikret gets a job in a bank, where he meets a greedy woman named Ferhunde, who he later marries. With the arrival of Ferhunde, the house will never be the same again.
Yalancı Yarim (2006) IMDB
Tarık is the spoiled son and heir to Tekelioğlu Bank’s owner Hulusi Tekelioğlu. He promises his father to study economics in Italy, yet Hulusi later finds out Tarık is one of the most popular rally pilots of Italy, wasting his father’s money and putting his own life in danger for nothing but fun. Hulusi sues Tarık, sentencing him to work in a 9-5 job with insurance for a year and to pay the amount he spent in Italy back to Tekelioğlu Bank. Tarık has no choice but to run away from home and find a job to survive, doing the only thing he knows best: driving. Naz, the spoiled daughter of a textile company owner Vahi Özkul, is into street-racing. To stop her dangerous habit, Vahi hires Tarık as Naz’s driver. Naz tries her best to make him quit, yet falls in love with him – a confession she isn’t willing to make.
Doktorlar (2006) IMDB
This drama that once dominated Show TV’s all day schedule, tells the story of one of the best hospitals of Turkey and the dedication of its doctors to save every single patient’s life. An adaptation of the popular American series Grey’s Anatomy, Doktorlar quickly got the attention of Turkish female viewers with its charming cast.
Kavak Yelleri (2007-2011) IMDB
A remake of the popular American series Dawson’s Creek, Kavak Yelleri was very popular among the Turkish youth at the time. Aslı, Deniz and Efe are childhood friends. The new girl Mine moves in town, making Deniz go crazy for her. Aslı has no intention of losing her crush Deniz to this newbie. While Efe tries his best to keep this friendship together, he can’t help but find himself slowly falling for Aslı.
Aşk-ı Memnu (2008-2011) IMDB
The story of forbidden love and revenge, Aşk-ı Memnu might be the most popular Turkish series of 2000s. Bihter marries her mother’s crush Adnan to get revenge on her mother. Moving in Adnan’s mansion, she meets Behlül, Adnan’s young and attractive nephew that lives with the family. Slowly but surely, a fire of forbidden love burns them all down.
Bonus: Ezel (2009-2011) IMDB
Similar to the storyline of the book The Count of Monte Cristo, Ezel is about an innocent guy named Ömer being blamed and put in jail for a crime he did not commit. Meeting Ramiz in jail, he learns the secrets of gambling. After escaping jail, in a gamble, he earns enough money to buy half of the country. Now, it is time to find those who caused him to get jailed for eight years for a crime he didn’t commit, and get revenge, including on his fiancee who betrayed Ömer.
Let us know which Turkish TV series you like the most in the comments below!
Kaçak! 🙂