Deep in Love premiered in October in Türkiye and has been continuing its run with strong ratings. Starring Deniz Baysal and Ulaş Tuna Astepe, the series draws viewers in with its emotional depth and Black Sea atmosphere. We sat down with its director, Çağrı Bayrak, creators, Ayşe Ferda Eryılmaz and Nehir Erdem, and leading stars, Aytek Şayan, Erdem Şanlı, Zeynep Atılgan, and Onur Dilber to talk about the story’s emotional journey and what makes Deep in Love connect with audiences around the world.
“Black Sea’s anger, its humor; each beautiful in its own way. People’s headstrong nature, their joy, stubbornness feed us. Their poems, folk songs inspire us. There, both the language of love and the language of animosity are specific to the Black Sea; very local. And nothing about it is light. Both the pain and the love are experienced at the highest level. This gives us a lot of opportunities and strengthens our pen.”
You are both the writers and creators of Deep in Love. Please tell us how the idea came up, how long it took you to design the project, and the things that happened along the way.
There is a very old legend, now forgotten, in the Black Sea Region. About how waters enraged and spilled over humans’ ill-temper, and that’s how the Black Sea came to be. When we first discovered this legend, we wrote the folk song, ‘Ha bu Deniz Taşacak’ (This Sea Will Spill Over). We enjoy writing folk lyrics as well as scripts. We think the first idea came from this folk song. As the folk song centered on star-crossed lovers, this is where Adil and Esme emerged. They represent two sides of that love and its biggest secret, their daughter, Eleni, who will eventually make the sea spill over.
But sociologically, we think it is based on our curiosity towards the nature of animosity. Why do some people, families, societies or even nations hold on to animosity and can’t live without it? How can an enmity, over time, begin to exist independently of its reason? Why, as years pass, does hostility lose its original reason and gain an identity of its own? Why do people need an enemy?
As the story of Deep in Love took shape, we traveled around the Black Sea and we explored how we could combine the geography with the story. And it felt like a timeless story to us, you know, if we took away the mobile phones and cars, we would be able to write the same story in the sixth century. We tried to emphasize that as well.
It’s been a long time since we wrote the story of Deep in Love, but we must’ve designed the project last year. After we started working with our production company, OGM, together we’ve entered into an intense preparation period. It was a very exciting and ecstatic process; we formed a great team, everyone worked so hard. The excitement and enthusiasm of a magical team brought along the story you watch on the screen.
I think you tell family stories pretty well and quite deep through real characters. We know this about you from your previous projects, and you’re very knowledgeable about the Black Sea culture. We’re witnessing an enmeshed story of two established families, who have been enemies for years. The story of Adil and Esme not being able to come together is in parts about this. Can you tell us a bit about how you created Adil and Esme?
One of us is from the Black Sea, the other is married into the region. And we also love the Black Sea culture. That’s why our connection to Black Sea is something else.
Adil and Esme are characters shaped by the Black Sea geography. For us, Adil Koçari is a misty mountain, Esme Furtuna is a temperamental sea. And where they meet is the Black Sea.
Esme Furtuna is as unpredictable as the sea. She keeps secrets in her deep waters. Sometimes she is calm, sometimes combative with waves going over people’s heads. But water is fluid; it doesn’t break, it fills in the gaps. That’s how she is; just like salt water healing the wounds, she silently goes over her hurt.
Adil Koçari is as misty as a steep mountain. He lives according to a law within and dominates. He can be cruel, he dishes out his own justice. He is a rebellious leader. As stubborn and as hard as a mountain. But hard things can’t bend, they break easily; so he has that brokenness within him.
Eleni is such a merciful and innocent character that she became a favorite of the viewers. She is from two cultures. She is both Greek and from Black Sea. We would like to hear about Eleni from you.
Eleni at first looks like “a foreigner coming to the city.” And she is. You know how there is a “seeker” archetype in stories, looking for herself, her story or roots in foreign lands.
But for us, Eleni is actually a healer. She is a healer who would understand our characters, formed in Black Sea’s harsh terrain and in a cruel animosity environment, without judgment and heal them through that understanding. The irony is Eleni is going to heal her own fragmented self through healing others.
Because at the core, Eleni is a little girl wanting to be loved. She wanted that all her life but couldn’t have it. This is why she bonds with Black Sea, she is being loved for the first time.
The entire cast of Deep in Love is really successful, really the right names. Did you have certain actors in mind while designing the project and creating the cast, and in general, what do you think about the cast?
I think one of the biggest fortunes of the project was the cast. Yes, we had names in our minds, we thought we had to entrust this character to this actor, but more importantly, we had a great casting director.
It is a magnificent feeling seeing the actors, that we entrusted our characters to, embrace them even more than we do. Writing a script for them is an immense pleasure. It is even better to watch it. We formed a bond where we constantly inspire each other, we keep knocking on wood for it to continue as is.
Black Sea, because of its geography and culture, is very suitable for telling epic stories. I think this increases the viewing of the series. What sort of opportunities does the Black Sea bring to writers while developing stories?
Black Sea is an amazing local identity. Its geography is so attractive cinematically, and thanks to our amazing cinematographer, our story combines very well with the geography.
It makes writing the culture so enjoyable. Its anger, its humor; each beautiful in its own way. People’s headstrong nature, their joy, stubbornness feed us. Their poems, folk songs inspire us. There, both the language of love and the language of animosity are specific to the Black Sea; very local. And nothing about it is light. Both the pain and the love are experienced at the highest level. This gives us a lot of opportunities and strengthens our pen.
Deep in Love is already the most talked about and viewed series in Türkiye. And it has started its international journey. Which of its qualities do you think will attract people from different countries and cultures the most?
Our director formed a very special world. I think alongside the story, this world is going to fascinate people from different cultures. Our story is timeless and universal. The story of lovers separated by opposing families is a story told everywhere, for hundreds of years. We would like the viewers to feel as if they’re breathing in the Black Sea region while we tell our story, and we believe the local identity our stage management and production add to this universal story is the most attractive part of the project.
And also, this story’s pulse is music. It’s been one of the lead characters of the story from the beginning. We think the folk music, connecting Black Sea music with Greek melodies, will have people from different cultures attached to the story.
