The Beauty of Turkish Dramas

There is something so beautiful about the unexpected. I was going through one of the darkest moments in my life. I had fallen into a deep depression in my second year of university. My parents and I decided it would be best if I withdrew from school and took the following semester off. I returned home and felt like a failure. Even though a myriad of people told me it was completely normal for university students to take time off, I was still devastated.

The next nine months were filled with doctors, therapists, medications, and a lot of time to reflect. My friends and family were all working or in school, so I had a lot of alone time. I spent a lot of my time reading and watching television in my room. I lost myself in fictional stories during this time. I found this one Spanish sci-/fi romance movie that was fantastic but so short. Somehow, while looking for more Spanish movies like that one, I came across something even more amazing.

I’m still not sure how it happened, or how I ended up in this part of YouTube, but I found myself watching a Turkish drama. The longing looks, the dramatic plot lines, the wealth and culture were mesmerizing. This show was called Erkenci Kus, or Early Bird. A young girl starts a job at an advertising firm and chaos, hijinks, spying, romance, and misunderstandings ensue. I was absolutely riveted. Every episode was two and a half hours long. I caught up then eventually watched it week after week. I found multiple other shows like it and binged through them as well. I was officially hooked on Turkish dramas.

Turkish dramas, or dizis, are excellent. They cross so many genres but always centre on love, family, and culture. I did notice politics never makes an appearance. The stories can generally be outrageous but they don’t take themselves too seriously which is part of the appeal. There is an international community of fans who love them and support the actors through all their projects. New shows pop-up every couple of months unlike in Canadian/American television, so if one show becomes too ridiculous you always have options. It is its own little universe, and I could not be more thrilled to have found it.

During my sabbatical from school, I became addicted to the distraction of Turkish dramas. It was amazing the ways in which it was an enjoyable escape from what was going on. For the first time in months, I felt relaxed and carefree. It helped that while most of the dramas had a lot of drama and intrigue, the ones I watched usually ended happily. Weddings, babies, and reconciliations blanketed the finales in joy. I left each drama feeling happy and satisfied. In between everything else that was going on; I would come home to watch a drama and immediately relax and unwind. When I returned to school, I continued to watch. During stressful times like exams, I found solace in the drama of these shows.

A few years later, I am still hooked. I have found peace with these shows. Now, after returning to university, graduating, and starting my first job, I still find time to fit in new Turkish dramas that I watch every week. During the stress of the pandemic, it has been an amazing way to spend my time indoors. The summers are full of romantic comedies with outlandish plots and the winters contain action and historical plots. I now have favourite actors that immediately hype me up for a series. The social media community is so positive and made up of mostly international fans, like me who are enamoured with the stories. I never thought I would find an activity so perfect for my interests.