Crossing the Western Borders: Women of Son

Authors

  • Şebnem Baran University of Southern California, Los Angeles

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2421-454X/7628

Keywords:

Turkish television, drama exports, scripted formats, quality programming

Abstract

While Turkish television shows have been quite popular in the Middle East, the Balkans, and South America, Turkish producers have been less successful in exporting content to the Western European and North American markets. After receiving moderate ratings in Turkey, Son (2012) was the first Turkish show to be sold to Western Europe when the Swedish public television stv2 purchased the rights to air it with subtitles. While the American adaptation, Runner, did not make it on air on ABC despite the pilot order, the Dutch and the Spanish adaptations were filmed in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Son (The End) remains the only success story among other attempts to introduce Turkish shows into these new markets. In this article, I argue that Son’s two opposing female characters offer a reflexive discussion of Turkey’s identity, and that this allegorical representation, which anchors the story in the current geopolitical climate—mirroring Turkey’s role as an east-west bridge—enables the show to challenge the existing borders of travel for Turkish TV shows.

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TV Shows:

Analar ve Anneler (Mamas and Moms, 2015)

Anneler ve Kızları (Mothers and Daughters, 2011)

Behzat Ç. (2010-2013)

El Accidente (2017)

Gümüş (Noor, 2005-2007)

Gelinim Olur Musun? (The Perfect Bride, 2004)

Homeland (2011-Present)

Huzur Sokağı (2012-2014)

Kiralık Aşk (2015-2017)

Küçük Gelin (2013-2015)

Muhteşem Yüzyıl (Magnificent Century, 2011-2014)

Runner (2015)

Son (The End, 2012)

Sıla (2006-2008)

The Honorable Woman (2014)

Vlucht HS13 (2016)

(2001-2010)

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Published

2017-12-28

How to Cite

Baran, Şebnem. (2017). Crossing the Western Borders: Women of Son. Series - International Journal of TV Serial Narratives, 3(2), 43–62. https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2421-454X/7628

Issue

Section

Culture / Reception / Consumption