The top Turkish drama providers were gathered again at the VS Next’ “Turkish Showcase: Drama Shines” on the first day of Virtual Screenings Worldwide. The participant companies were Calinos Entertainment, ATV, Inter Medya, MITSCO, Eccho Rights and Kanal D, which launched their top shows for the Autumn season, most of the available at VSWW’ VS Market.
Ekin Koyuncu, Executive Director, Kanal D International attended the showcase for the first time after she became the leader of the international division last May. One of the trends she underlined is the ‘appetite for romantic comedies’. This demand translates into the good ratings of some of its stories in Kanal D in Turkey, like the comedy Love Trap or the Turkish daptation of Dr House, Hekimoğlu, sold in eight territories worldwide. She also announced that KDI will add three new dramas to the catalog and announced in advance one of them, Three Sisters.
Among the new season dramas, Jose Luis Gascue, EVP, Calinos Entertainment, promoted the Turkish OTT bluTV’s original dramas such us Deeply, which follows the love story of two 20-somethings and their ups and downs, as well Yesilcam, a romantic series located in the 20s. Özlem Özsümbül, Head of Sales at MADD Entertainment, presented Nehir and Flames of Flate, the first is a drama that is already successful in Turkey, produced by Ay Yapim and the second by the MEDYAPIM factory.
Fredrik Af Malmborg, managing director, Eccho Rights presented to the international market the second season of Chrysalis, produced by OGM Pictures; also Legacy, by Karamel Yapim, a drama that was very popular in the Turkish drama block; and One of us, produced by Surec Film and recently released in Turkey. ‘From the same company, we are also launching at VSWW Liar, the Turkish adaptation of the title with the same name from all3media International. The series airs on Show TV in Turkey’, he underlined.
Aysegul Tuzun, managing director, MISTCO, presented some of the company’s new season titles, with special focus on the historical drama subgenre with Barbarossa: Sword of the Mediterranean, produced by ES Film; also the family drama The Innocents, whiche debuted on TRT in Turkey produced by OGM Pictures, and the dramas Shadow Team (TIMS &B) and An Anatolian Tale (Akli Film).
Can Okan, CEO, Inter Medya, underlined the company’s label of “New Generation Turkish Series” including miniseries produced for streaming platforms, which offer ‘completely different stories without forgetting the traditional Turkish drama components’. One of them is sci-fi series Synchronous. The company continues to promote Bitter Lands S4 and is doing at VSWW World Premieres of TIMS&B’s The Trusted aired on ATV, as well as other classics as Last Summer, Interrupted, A.Riza and Scorpion.
Lastly, Emre Gorentas, Content Sales Deputy Manager, ATV, who described: ‘We are offering new seasons of the successful productions that have conquered Turkish audience. Turkish drama is lighter and softer recently, and there is a huge potential for these stories in the local and international market’. The two productions announced were Wounded Heart and a new season of For My Family.
