The new series Gassal, streaming on TRT’s digital platform Tabii, offers a profound and authentic portrayal of the life and challenges of mortuary workers. Following the story of Baki, a funeral service worker who questions his own mortality, the series deeply resonated with audiences as it sheds light on a compassionate yet often misunderstood profession but also raises existential questions about life and death.
A resounding success
With Gassal, Turkish audiences have discovered the heartfelt and meaningful storytelling they have longed for. Thousands of viewers have shared posts expressing how the series helped them realise the need for quality productions that align with their cultural values, are family-friendly, and steer clear of overused clichés. This sentiment has quickly become a trending topic, highlighting the show’s ability to resonate deeply with its audience while offering a refreshing and authentic viewing experience.
Conversely, this situation highlights the decline in quality across the television series sector. The series Gassal quickly earned widespread acclaim, propelling its broadcasting platform to the top of application markets and setting new ratings records. Within just two weeks, its first episode amassed an astonishing 17 million views on YouTube, underscoring its immense popularity. This success becomes even more striking when compared to other well-received productions like Gibi and Prens. The first episode of Gibi reached only 7 million views over three years, while the award-winning Prens garnered just 4.5 million views in its first six months.
Additionally, the struggles that Gibi and Prens faced before securing a broadcast slot, whether on television or digital platforms, shed light on the sector’s increasing congestion and lack of opportunities for innovative productions.
In an era when Türkiye lacked productions that could genuinely resonate with a broad audience, public service broadcaster TRT, renowned for its high-quality offerings, has effectively filled this void. This success underscores the critical role of public service media in elevating the standards of broadcasting and bringing the principles of public service content to the digital realm through its international platform, Tabii.
Exports are rising, but quality is plummeting
In recent years, the Turkish drama sector has become an effective exporter on a global scale. Turkish series have reached nearly one billion viewers in more than 150 countries. Türkiye’s position as one of the top three series-exporting countries, following the US and the UK, highlights its ability to capture a substantial global market share. This achievement is widely valued for its multifaceted contributions, from promoting Türkiye’s image to boosting tourism. Furthermore, the increase in foreign sales revenue to an estimated $600 million underscores the industry’s significant economic impact. However, while these figures suggest a flourishing serials sector, the underlying reality is far more nuanced and warrants closer examination. Additionally, although being in third place is an important achievement, it is worth emphasising that this is not an increase but a decline from Türkiye’s second place before 2020.
A closer look at the figures shows that the quantitative increase in series production and exports has not been accompanied by a general improvement in the sector’s quality. Around 70 series are produced each season, but the proportion of series that go on to a second season is around 10 per cent. Many series are taken off air after a few episodes without even completing their first season. The surge in production volumes in a landscape saturated with clichéd and formulaic themes has not been matched by a corresponding growth in quality, originality, or creativity. Considering that the broadcasting rights of Friends were sold to HBO Max for $425 million, it may be necessary to reconsider the $600 million revenue of the Turkish drama sector, even though it is the third largest exporter, from a qualitative perspective.
Ephemeral advantages
The Economist highlighted the key drivers behind the growing global interest in Turkish TV series. The magazine pointed to their captivating landscapes, opulent costumes, elaborate stage designs, and the appeal of their strikingly attractive actors. Similar observations are echoed in academic research. Several authors suggest that the widespread popularity of Turkish TV series in regions like the Middle East, the Turkic Republics, North Africa, and Latin Americacan be attributed more to cultural connections and shared values than to the quality of production itself.
Some analysts attribute the increasing market share of Turkish productions to challenges faced by competitors in recent years. During the pandemic, production in the US and European nations experienced significant disruptions, while Türkiye’s robust support for its entertainment sector played a pivotal role in its rapid growth. The unique conditions of the pandemic period were a key factor in the tripling of export demand for Turkish TV series between 2020 and 2023.
Moreover, only a small portion of the sector’s output is exported, with the highest-quality productions typically chosen for international distribution. Fatih Aksoy, the head of entertainment and cultural services at the Services Exporter Association, said, “They think Turkish people make great series. However, people in Türkiye get to see both the good and the bad. Therefore, the perception in Türkiye is different. The foreign audience inevitably has a high perception because they get to see the best series, as eight to 10 Turkish series are sold to 170 countries every year.”
An important point is that the exported series are often older productions. This fact is quite understandable, as a multi-season series proves the production is above a certain threshold and gained ratings. Importers tend to favour shows that have been on air for a long time and offer numerous episodes. While economic factors influence this preference, older productions generally exhibit higher quality and better alignment with audience tastes than newer ones. This situation is frequently reflected in the audience’s feedback; the statement “Everyone watches Turkish TV series now, except the Turks” summarises the sector’s current status, although it is an exaggeration. Ideally, a sector capable of producing so many successful works would evolve, creating even higher-quality content. However, the current trend suggests otherwise. If the decline in quality persists, the sector risks losing its global momentum.
A sector in decline
The decline in the quality of Turkish TV series can be attributed to various factors, including economic, political, and ideological influences. Statements from industry representatives indicate that producers prioritise exports as a primary revenue source due to the high production costs. In Türkiye, advertising revenues are relatively low, and even with extensive ad placements across lengthy episodes, production costs remain difficult to cover. However, once a series is exported, the revenue from international sales is counted as profit. For this reason, almost all producers aim to distribute their series to as many countries as possible.
In essence, every production serves both as an artistic creation and investment tool, with exportability becoming the key factor in securing profit. This shift has introduced numerous challenges. The biggest issue is that productions are shaped primarily around their export potential rather than artistic quality. One might assume that a series’ marketability is directly linked to its quality, but this is not always true. There was a time when Turkish productions were both popular domestically and internationally recognised for their diverse strengths. However, today’s landscape is markedly different. Instead, we notice Hollywood-style productions—either weak imitations of once-successful works or series designed exclusively to cater to foreign audiences. As a result, they struggle to resonate with Turkish viewers.
Moreover, a significant portion of the record-breaking revenues still comes from older, high-quality productions. In today’s fast-paced consumer era, it is evident that once saturation is reached, these past successes alone will not be enough to sustain the industry’s future growth.
Industry professionals frequently cite episode length as one of the sector’s biggest challenges, a problem directly tied to advertising revenues. Each 90- to 150-minute episode is produced in just one week—from scriptwriting to broadcast—forcing intense production schedules that inevitably compromise artistic and quality standards. Moreover, aside from lead actors, few in the industry earn satisfactory wages from this labour-intensive model.
Despite being a major challenge, long episode durations also give the Turkish series a competitive edge in the export market. In many importing countries, a single Turkish episode is repackaged into three 40-minute segments, while some Latin American networks air them as daily 30-minute parts. As the world’s longest TV series, Turkish soap operasremain an attractive option for international buyers, as this format allows them to acquire three episodes for the cost of one.
Monopolisation and cartelisation
However, monopolisation and industry control are likely the primary drivers of this decline. Critics argue that the widespread instrumentalisation of the entertainment sector—encompassing everything from cinema to TV series production, advertising, and award ceremonies—has been used to impose cultural hegemony and promote a singular ideological narrative, particularly a left-leaning liberal discourse. These concerns are further amplified by allegations of cartelisation involving the entertainment industry’s organisational structure, including rating agencies.
The issue of cartelisation, which had previously been sporadically highlighted through tragic incidents such as the suicides of unemployed actors, has now escalated into a formal legal investigation, supported by concrete evidence. Türkiye’s competition authority has launched an unprecedented probe into more than 20 casting and talent management agencies, following allegations of monopolistic practices and dominance within the country’s television and film industry. While the existence of a deeply entrenched, all-powerful cartel was long considered an open secret, the situation has now reached a breaking point, with numerous victims coming forward with testimonies. These allegations suggest that casting and talent agencies are working in collusion, exerting coordinated control over the entire sector, and revealing the troubling dynamics currently shaping the Turkish entertainment industry.
Reports suggest that these agencies not only control access to acting roles but also exert pressure on production companies, effectively eliminating competition by ensuring that only actors from their own rosters appear in series, films, and advertisements. Furthermore, this system allegedly holds enough power to determine who rises to prominence and who is erased from the industry altogether. Investigations are currently underway into more than 20 agencies, with obtained evidence—including correspondence and internal records—indicating their organised efforts to dominate the sector.
In sum, the Turkish drama sector faces some paradoxical issues. The drive for higher revenue pushes the industry toward rigid, profit-driven strategies, yet these methods create problems that hinder its long-term development. While the number of series continues to rise, their overall quality and profitability do not follow the same upward trend. Although export revenues have reached record highs, they still fall short of the sector’s full potential. Moreover, it is widely acknowledged that these figures are largely based on the golden age of Turkish TV series. Apart from a few leading actors who earn substantial incomes, the sector struggles with poor working conditions and low job satisfaction. When these economic challenges are compounded by monopolisation and ideological conservatism, fundamental elements such as quality, originality, and creativity suffer greatly. Given these circumstances, it is impossible to ignore the warning signs for the industry’s future. It is useful to remember that the Nigerian film industry produces more movies than Hollywood, yet high output alone does not guarantee long-term success.
Although the current trajectory may suggest otherwise, there is still hope for Turkish drama. Gassal is one of the main indicators of this situation. Its success shows audience expectations of quality and sends an important message to the sector. Original ideas and quality productions are winning over the public. The sector’s future depends on quality productions, not sensational, conflict-fuelled or trampling on social values.
