Endemol Turkey Expands into Scripted with Slate of New Drama Commiions

24 November 2014

ENDEMOL TURKEY EXPANDS INTO SCRIPTED WITH SLATE OF NEW DRAMA COMMISSIONS Endemol, the world's largest independent production company, today announced that it is launching a new slate of prime time drama in Turkey. Set in Istanbul, Sparrow Palace, locally known as Serce Sarayi is a contemporary comedy drama with a dark side about a young, beautiful widow. The primetime series has been commissioned by Star TV and is set to air early 2015. It is directed by one of the most noted directors of the Turkish TV sector, Mesude Eraslan whose credits include Falling Leaves', a hit series widely known in the Middle East and Central Europe.

Endemol Turkey has also been commissioned by ATV to produce Overturn, a modern day family saga about love and revenge. Known locally as Alabora, the new series is expected to launch in a peak time spot next year with Kadir Dogulu ( Fatih Harbiye') in the leading role. Overturn will be directed by Ayd n Bulut, who is behind hit local drama Ihlamurlar Alt nda'.

Separately, Endemol Turkey's first scripted project Broken Pieces (Paramparca) will premiere on Star TV early December. Global Agency, who picked up worldwide distribution rights at MIPCOM 2014 has already secured interest from ten broadcasters, details of which will be announced soon.

Broken Pieces is a romantic tale starring Turkey's top actors Erkan Petekkaya and Nurgul Yesilkaya and is written by Ayfer Tunc, well known for record-breaking hits Aliye' and 1001 Nights'. Cevdet Mercan directs the series; his credits include popular dramas and TV movies including Asi' and Gonulcelen'.

In the last year, we've seen Endemol Turkey expand from a purely non-scripted producer to become a significant player in drama production. We are very proud that our development and investment in this area has resulted in three new commissions for key broadcasters in Turkey. said Marina Williams, Endemol's CEO of Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East/ North Africa operations. Turkish drama is proving very successful among international clients and we look forward to Endemol Turkey's scripted titles gaining popularity both locally and internationally.

Internationally, Endemol's scripted programming business has grown by 75% in the last five years and today represents a quarter of the company's worldwide business. Other Endemol drama productions around the world include U.S. hits Hell on Wheels, (four seasons on AMC) and Kingdom (recently picked up for two further seasons on DirecTV); as well as major international series such as The Fall (BBC Two), Black Mirror (Channel 4); and coming soon Gallipoli (Nine Network and TV3 New Zealand) and Fortitude (Sky Atlantic).

Endemol Turkey's scripted business has been launched by the new team headed up by Managing Director G khan Tararer. Other recent credits include The Money Drop (Canal D), Still Standing (Star TV) and My Man Can (Star TV).

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