Can Yaman Promotes New Historical Series “El Turco” in Cannes
El Turco historical series by Ay Yapım
MADD Entertainment prides itself in being ahead of the curve, and at the 2024 edition of MIPCOM, the world’s largest international market, guests got a front-row seat to the company’s latest groundbreaking projects and innovative storytelling, setting the stage for future global hits.
Among the series presented was “Ru,” a short-form Turkish drama that created quite the buzz when it first aired in Türkiye earlier in the year. The series, led by Turkish superstar Meryem Uzerli, tells an impossible love story between a 38-year-old woman (Uzerli) and an 18-year-old man (Burak Berkay Akgül).
In a panel presented in collaboration with Variety, actress Meryem Uzerli, veteran producer Fatih Aksoy, and Ateş İnce, MADD Entertainment’s Managing Director, answered questions about the series, which just by the trailer, was evidently something very different from the norm.
Uzerli, who raved about immediately wanting to star in Ruafter reading the script, described the series as more than just an age-gap stpry. “It’s about young people finding themselves. It’s about the pressures of society. It’s about finding yourself. It’s about speaking up for yourself as a woman,” she stated. “I think one of the most important things in life these days is that we find our voice. Especially as women, living our lives the way we think is right,” she added.
With a title as bold as Ru, MADD Entertainment’s Ateş İnce hopes to tap into new audiences that have yet to discover the magic of the Turkish series.
A first look at El Turco
The panel later featured a special preview of El Turco, the eagerly anticipated new series from Ay Yapım, which stars the famed Can Yaman. The series centers on Balaban Aga, who is condemned to death in a brutal act of betrayal, and after he barely makes it out alive, he settles in the remote village of Moena, high in the Italian Alps. Having been given a second chance at life, Balaban Aga makes it his mission to protect the people of the village, and as he shields them from their feudal lord’s brutal taxes, he is given the nickname El Turco.
The Hollywood-level production style was among the many things that immediately stood out in the trailer for El Turco, which has since wrapped filming on its six-episode first season. The series was also shot in Hungary and entirely in English. Shooting in Hungary was a decision that paid off, per Ay Yapım’s Kerem Çatay, who described the series as a passion project he longed to make a reality.
Yaman, who trained for hours on end to prepare for the role, lit up when he expressed his excitement about the series finally launching. Arguably, bringing a character as iconic as El Turco to life did not come without its challenges, but if the trailer we were shown is anything to go by, it is more than guaranteed a top spot in our must-not-miss list of dramas.
El Turco will become available for licensing via MADD Entertainment in Q1 of 2025.
