Skip to main content

Turkey's YouTube gangsters hit mainstream box office

The "Sifir Bir" series set in the southern city of Adana is essentially a constant shootout between dueling street gangs competing for turf, with a bit of the country's turbulent politics.
SifirBir.jpg

Within four years, the unrestrained Turkish gangster show "Sifir Bir" ("01" in Turkish, taking its name from the license plate code of the large southern city of Adana where it is set) managed to ascend from a series that uploaded its first two seasons to YouTube to a mainstream film and box office success.

The explosion of the show's popularity that eventually took it to the big screen is likely a result of the void of provocative, challenging content on Turkey's TV channels, thanks to the heightened censorship in recent years that has directed viewers to Netflix and local streaming sites.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.