Endemol Turkey builds drama slate

Turkish broadcasters Star TV and ATV have commissioned a pair of primetime scripted series from Endemol Turkey as the company steps up its drama production efforts in the country.

Star TV has greenlit Sparrow Palace – locally known as Serce Sarayi – a contemporary comedy drama with a dark side about a young, beautiful widow.

The series will premiere in early 2015 with Mesude Eraslan, whose credits include Falling Leaves, directing.

Meanwhile, ATV has commissioned Endemol Turkey to produce Overturn, a modern day family saga about love and revenge.

Known locally as Alabora, the new series will launch in a primetime spot next year with Kadir Dogulu (Fatih Harbiye) in the leading role. Overturn will be directed by Aydın Bulut, who is behind hit local drama Ihlamurlar Altında.

Endemol Turkey’s previously-announced first scripted project Broken Pieces (Paramparca) will premiere on Star TV in early December. Turkish drama distributor Global Agency, which picked up worldwide distribution rights at Mipcom 2014, says it has already secured interest from 10 broadcasters, details of which it will announce soon.

The drama is a romantic tale written by 1001 Nights scribe Ayfer Tunc. Cevdet Mercan directs the series.

“In the last year, we’ve seen Endemol Turkey expand from a purely non-scripted producer to become a significant player in drama production,” said Marina Williams, Endemol’s CEO for CEE and MENA.

Endemol Turkey’s scripted business first launched in 2012 and is now led by a team headed up by MD Gökhan Tararer. Other recent credits include The Money Drop (Canal D), Still Standing (Star TV) and My Man Can (Star TV).