Turkish Thrillers and Detective Stories As Dizis— Day 17/30

Am I the only one who feels a lack of thrillers and cop stories on Turkish television right now? I might be. In our house crime shows and thrillers are well loved. Apart from Yargı and Arka Sokaklar I don’t think there have been any thrillers on TV lately. Sure there are those on streaming platforms for instance Bozkır on Blu TV is great but I mean public television doesn’t have any. We used to have an abundance of them and today let me remind you some.

Behzat Ç. started in 2010 and ended in 2019 and let me tell you as the life span of a dizi that is a lot. First of all it takes place in Ankara, the real capital of Turkey. Second, it has great characters and great actors who are able to bring them to life. Third it is a critique of the Turkish justice system and bureaucracy which is bold. There has been spinoffs and movies and they can mostly be found on digital platforms. This was and is a very well loved character and a dizi. We need more series that are written so well. Please do give it a chance if you love crime dramas or detective stories as much as me.

Kanıt (Proof) started in 2010 and lasted until 2013. What made it interesting was that while the detectives tried to solve the cases Sevil Atasoy a real and a renowned forensic scientist explained how the evidence in a crime scene was used or checked. I can’t say I liked the cast as much as I did the ones in Behzat Ç. but still they are good actors and the murders and the conversations kept me interested.

45 Yok Olan (46 Disappears) is a thriller about a genetics professor (played by the same actor who played the police chief Behzat Ç.) who wants to save his sick sister. It is reminiscent of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde and I like that about it. This aired in 2016 and has 13 episodes. That means it ended earlier than expected but it ends in a satifsfying way I think. I found this to be a really fun watch made more interesting by the great acting.

Last but not least there is Çember (Circle) which started in 2017 and continued until 2022. Çember started off as a dizi but continued as a series of movies which you can find on Netflix. This is about a series of murders being solved by the murder investigation bureau. There is a nice chemistry between the actors and even some cute romance. The cases are not dumb but then don’t expect perfection, we all know how dizis are shot. The ones released as movies are also easy to consume.

Do any of these tickle your fancy? Do you like crime shows or detective shows? Have you watched any Turkish ones? Which ones are your favorites? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter (@edsavaseri) or on Instagram (eda_watching_dizis). See you on day #18!