BURAK SAKAR*
Beginning in September 2022, the 2022/2023 of Turkish TV featured a total of 57 series broadcasted until the end of the season in June, this year. Out of these 57 productions, 41 aired their finale within the season while 16 of them will return starting September.
A tremendous earthquake devastated a large part of Türkiye in February. Due to this disaster, Turkish TV series halted for three weeks. In addition, the series aired on state owned channel TRT 1 went off the air for a few weeks, due to the world Cup 2022. As a result of this situation, the total number of episodes fell slightly below expectations, recording as 1,072. In the 2022/2023 season on Turkish televisions, while 1,072 episodes of the series were broadcasted, the total duration of these series was 2,429 hours.
The number of real-life adaptations increased for Turkish TV series in the 2022/2023 season. In fact, three series based on real-life stories aired episodes with subtitles indicating this fact. Out of the top 10 series with the highest ratings at the end of the season, three of them were adapted from real-life stories.
The most-watched Turkish series of last season was Yalı Çapkını (Golden Boy). The series started with a rating of 3 in September and increased to 13 in December. The episodes of Yalı Çapkını achieved seven out of 8 highest ratings of the season. Gönül Dağı (An Anatolian Tale) which was the most watched series of last season, was the second most-watched TV series of this season. Among the sixteen series that continued from the previous season, Gönül Dağı had the least decrease in average rating.
Historical and military dramas remain influential
The historical drama continues to take the Turkish TV by storm. Kuruluş Osman (The Ottoman), one of the most-watched series in its first three seasons, maintained a strong performance. The series reached a total of 130 episodes aired and was the third most-watched series of the season with an average rating of 8. Despite being in its final season, Alparslan Büyük Selçuklu (The Great Seljuks: Alparslan) was among the top 10 most watched series with an average of 6.62 ratings.
Military drama, a trend of the Turkish television industry a few seasons ago, regained popularity on Turkish televisions. Sipahi, Al Sancak (The Patriots), and Dokuz Oğuz are the series of the genre that started this season, but all three made finale during the season.
The popularity of the adaptation series keeps going on Turkish televisions. Adaptions of American shows such as Darmaduman (remake of Beverly Hills, 90210), Hayat Bugün (remake of New Amsterdam), and Kraliçe (Starting Over) (remake of Queen Sugar) did not reach 13th episodes. Remakes of Asian television shows like Taçsız Prenses (remake of Without Family) and EGO (remake of Temptation) lasted 13 episodes. However, Ömer (remake of Shtisel) and Adım Farah (Farah) (remake of The Cleaning Lady) have high ratings and both were renewed for another season.
Returning of missing stars
The 2022/2023 season also saw return of many stars who were missed for sometime. The series Aile (The Family), bringing together Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ (Forbidden Love) and Serenay Sarıkaya (Medcezir), achieved the highest first episode rating of the season. The series Ben Bu Cihana Sığmazam (The Father), starring Oktay Kaynarca, who took a year off the screens after Eşkıya Dünyaya Hükümdar Olmaz (Grand Family), had the highest second episode rating of the season. Adım Farah (Farah) brought Engin Akyürek (Fatmagul) and Demet Özdemir (My Home My Destiny) back to television screens after two years, and was the only series that renewed for the new season among the fifteen broadcasted on Fox TV throughout the season.
Among the 43 new series, 3 of them rocketed into success in ratings. Yalı Çapkını (Golden Boy), the most-watched series of the season, increased its rating by 110% in its second episode. Bir Küçük Gün Işığı (A Little Sunshine), which aired 36 episodes, saw a total of 68% increase in its second episode. Kızılcık Şerbeti (One Love), one of the mostwatched series of the season, drew attention with its 54% increase in its second episode, despite its strong rival. Aldatmak (Deception), produced by the team which created the Bir Zamanlar Çukurova (Bitter Lands), raised its rating by 50% in the second episode.
Episode duration
The average episode duration on Turkish televisions was 134 minutes. During the season, three series (Aldatmak, Duy Beni and Arka Sokaklar-Back Streets) exceeded the average of 145 minutes. Seven series with an average duration below 125 minutes also aired their finale within the season.
During the 2022/2023 season, 13 of 57 series that aired throughout the season were broadcasted on Wednesday, and only three of these series renewed for the next season. Nine out of 10 series which aired on Thursday aired their finale within the season. The fact that two of the five most-watched series of the year (Yalı Çapkını and Kızılcık Şerbeti) were aired on Fridays resulting in a fiercest competition for a long time.
