So… TECHNICALLY I shouldn’t put this in a roundup, because we haven’t finished watching it. However it really rates a mention, owing to the fact that in its original broadcast form I believe each episode is movie-length. What Netflix cunningly did, to make it more bitesize, was to edit it back into much more consumable 45 minute episodes. Of which we’ve seen about 38 so far, from the 76 making up Season 1.
I love this show.
It’s based on the life of Ertugrul – the father of Osman I, who founded the Ottoman Empire – sometime around the beginning of the 13th century. The content is primarily drawn from history and legend, but there’s obviously a lot of licence going on. It’s culturally centred around Turkmen tribes and other Muslim cultures, so it features detailed representation of Muslim practices and philosophy WITHOUT casting them as 2-dimensional “baddies”. It has loads of slow-motion horse sequences in it (for some reason). AND… IT’S ALL IN TURKISH! What’s not to love?!
Can’t wait til we get to season 2 (which has 103 episodes). In total the 5 seasons have 448 episodes. OK, so it’s not quite EastEnders. 👍👍