Il Turco

This is fantastic international series with absolutely gripping plot which starts at frame one and finishes at last frame of episode qui ding plot to opening of potential season 2. Can Yaman has delivered master performance which glues you to the screen from get go. His portrayal of torment and pain leaves you breathless while on other side his performance in love scenes with Gloria are completely convincing. Greta Ferro delivers incredible heroin Gloria with complete conviction and Will Kemp and Kieran O'Reilley deliver stunning antagonists. The shout also goes to Magnus Samuelson and his performance as Gunther.... This is must watch and must season 2 project.

From the acting to the visuals to the action scenes that are dynamic and perfectly executed, El Turco absolutely blew me away - from the acting to the visuals to the action scenes that are dynamic and perfectly executed. Can Yaman delivers his most elaborate role yet, combining strength, charisma, and emotional depth. His physically demanding scenes feel authentic and add to the believability of the entire story.

The visuals of the series are masterfully crafted - beautiful historical locations, detailed costumes and precise camerawork create an atmosphere that draws the viewer into the story. The action and fight sequences are shot with precision and intensity that increases the tension in each episode.

The storyline is dramatic and full of surprising twists that keep the viewer's attention until the last minute. In addition, the interplay between the actors works great, which adds depth and authenticity to the story.

El Turco is simply a series that is not only entertaining, but also visually and emotionally captivating.

6 fast-paced episodes that you devour minute by minute.

El Turco is more than just a period drama-it's a fascinating study of identity, displacement, and the burden of legacy, made all the more compelling by the casting of Can Yaman as Balaban. The most striking aspect of this series is not just its sweeping visuals or high-stakes narrative, but how the life of its lead actor seems to eerily echo the arc of the very character he portrays.

Balaban, a Janissary warrior presumed dead after the Siege of Vienna, finds himself in a foreign land, straddling cultures, loyalties, and identities. He becomes both an outsider and a savior-a bridge between East and West. Can Yaman's own journey, from a high-profile career in Turkish television to a controversial yet ambitious reinvention in Europe, mirrors this balancing act. Like Balaban, Yaman has had to navigate the expectations of his homeland while carving out a new identity abroad, often at great personal cost.

This resonance feels almost prophetic. Balaban is haunted by his past and driven by a vision of something greater than himself-much like Yaman, who has become a symbol of the modern Turkish star attempting to transcend national borders. In portraying a character who must reinvent himself in exile, Yaman effectively performs his own story. The sense of exile, of attempting to do good in a world that views you with suspicion, feels lived-in, not acted. It gives the performance an emotional heft that goes beyond script and direction.

There's a meta-layer to El Turco that can't be ignored. In many ways, the series feels like a dramatized prophecy of Can Yaman's real-life transformation-a tale of legacy, reinvention, and a search for belonging. It's that rare moment when life and art align, and the result is a performance that is not only convincing but eerily self-reflective.

El Turco becomes more than a historical drama-it becomes a mirror. And in that mirror, we see not just Balaban's struggle, but Can Yaman's own. The prophecy is not in the plot-it's in the casting. Makes you believe in divine intervention.

After watching the first episode one needs to go on watching and when the episodes end one needs more. I lijed everything of this series, the acting, the costumes, the historical background, the atmosphere...it's intriguing. It's historical but also a bit of a fairy tale with the eternal fight between good and evil. I liked all the actors but, since I have watched the previous series of Can Yaman, I must say that this series shows his growth as an actor and his multiple talents. He really worked a lot and learnt a lot for this role and one can see the good results of his committment. One special mention for Domenico Sica for the amazing scenography. Applause for Greta Ferro and all the cast.

For those who have studied the historical epic of reference, it is truly like being transported there, between magic, superstitions, poverty, heroic impulses and divisions between castes and peoples. The Ottoman Empire of that presses at the gates of Catholic Europe. The characters are all well characterized, they have their own little-big story to tell.... Hasan Balaban, rejected and unjustly accused, finds courage to redeem himself and take his place among the righteous. Glory is his cure for the wounds of the body and, above all, of the soul two strangers, two lost souls who find, in each other, their own.