10 Turkish Shows Like Zalim Istanbul

The hype of Turkish dramas is increasing day by day; the stories not only captivate the audience with their distinctive plot but also provide the viewers with knowledge regarding the vast culture of Turkey.

Turkish dramas have a mastery over engaging the audience by showcasing a variety of emotions. They are known for their perfect blend of family dramas, romance, comedy, and suspense.

Zalim Istanbul depicts the story of two families from different backgrounds. The first season of the show was released in 2019 with 9 episodes. After its breakthrough among international viewers, Kanal D aired the show’s second season to complete its further plot and has 30 episodes in total.

The cast includes Bahar Sahin, Mehmet Ozan Dolunay, Sera Kutulbey, Berker Guven, Simay Barlas, Mine Tugey, Fikeret Kuskan, Deniz Ugur, the entire cast did a great job in representing their characters.
Agah belongs to one of the most elite groups in Istanbul and lives with his wife, son, and nephew, who got disabled at a young age.

Agah’s brother died long before, and is in charge of taking responsibility for his brother’s son. Like in typical family dramas, Agah’s wife doesn’t like when Agah pays attention to his nephew. She tries her best to make him go away from their home.

Agah wanted to marry off his nephew to someone who could genuinely take care of him, and the news of the marriage reached a family in Antakya. Seher is convinced by her mother-in-law to marry one of her daughters into Agah’s family. Seher is an independent, strong woman who lost her husband years ago and did everything possible to take care of her children.

The real plot begins when she moves to Istanbul along with her kids and starts living in Agah’s house. The series reveals how these families are connected, and there is a mystery behind them. It also catches viewers’ attention through the inclusion of romance and tenderness between the leads.

If dramas like ‘Zalim Istanbul’ fascinate you, then consider including the following shows in your next watch list; however, if you haven’t watched the show yet, do check it out on the official YouTube channel of KanalD.

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Hercai

Hercai became one of the well-known series in Turkey. It serves in the same genre as Zalim Istanbul. The drama is about a young boy, Miran, who was raised by his grandparents after he lost his parents at a very young age.

Miran’s only determination throughout his life was to seek revenge against those who disturbed the peace of his family.

To destroy the Sadgolu family, he comes up with a detailed plan: he becomes a partner in their business. His plan is first to gain their faith and then uncover the ugly truth about them.

Miran meets the youngest daughter, Reyyan, of the Sadgolu family and thinks to take advantage of her by getting close to the family.

However, the entire plan becomes difficult to execute when Miran starts developing feelings for Reyyan. At one point, he comes into a tough situation where he either has to follow his heart or continue playing games with the family.

Fans were obsessed over the acting portrayed by the cast and also declared that the main highlight of the show was the irresistible chemistry between the leads.

Cast: Akin Akinozu, Ebru Sahin
Genre: Family Drama/ Romance
Episodes: 69
Network: Atv
Released: 2019
IMDB Rate: 6.6/10
Streaming Platform: YouTube

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Yemin

Yemin is considered one of the longest Turkish dramas of all time; despite having four seasons and over 400 episodes, the show still got all the love and attention from the viewers. The drama takes the fans through a rollercoaster of emotions.

Emir is a spoiled son who doesn’t listen to anyone, and due to his reckless behavior, his father decides to marry him off to Reyhan. Their love life starts from being enemies at first.

Emir tortured Reyhan in the initial days of their marriage as he thought it was the only way through which he could persuade her to divorce him.

Emir fell into his trap and developed a soft corner for Reyhan; the same goes for Rehyan as well. The transition from enemies to die-hard lovers was indeed worth watching.

However, Season 3 was too much to take for the viewers. Rehyan’s death was a shock to the entire fandom, as fans felt the entire show was incomplete without her character.

The drama received recognition from all over the world fans couldn’t stop declaring it one of their favorite Turkish series of all time.

Cast: Ozge Yagiz, Gokberk Demirci
Genre: Romance
Episodes: 437
Network: Kanal 7
Released: 2019
IMdb Rate: 6/10
Streaming Platform: YouTube

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Intersection

Intersection is a Turkish drama that swayed the viewers by including a love triangle between the three leads. Ali deals with a past trauma from which he was unable to recover. His love for cars and speed driving led to the death of his little nephew.

He carries that pain all along, but his life changes after he meets Naz. Naz is a young and promising doctor; they met quite a few times while Naz was operating on his friend.

Naz was a married woman, and her husband Umut was quite supportive of her career, but deep down, he wanted to pursue his dreams.

He wanted to design and produce his car, and after a few circumstances, he got to know about Ali. Ali and Naz became good friends, and Umut realized that it was through Ali that he could complete his dreams. Moreover, the show takes a turn when Ali falls in love with Naz.

Naz, although he is married, develops a soft corner for Ali. However, this drama was not only about romance; the death of the female lead at the end of the show shocked the viewers.

If you love dramas that intrigue your curiosity level to the maximum, then this drama might be the perfect fit for you.

Cast: Ibrahim Celikkol, Belcim Biglin, Alican Yucesoy
Genre: Drama/Romance
Episodes: 31
Network: Fox TV
Released: 2016
IMDB Rate: 6.6/10
Streaming Platform: Netflix

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Yenihayat

After ending the show with a cliffhanger moment, fans keep asking for a Season 2 of the show to clear all the further mysteries and questions. Yenihayat portrays the character of a strong female lead, which also left a positive effect on the young audience.

The drama depicts the story of Adem, who is a soldier; in an unfortunate incident, he got injured while serving in the military.

As a result, he has to resign from his post. Adem then starts searching for various jobs to support his family. He landed a job as a bodyguard for a wealthy business family.

Yasemin (Female Lead) is in danger now and receives death threats because of her husband, Timur. Timur lost his ex-wife in the same scenario years ago and doesn’t want Yasemin to end up in the same condition. He hires Adem as Yasemin’s bodyguard to protect her from the enemies.

Yasemin didn’t want to get followed by a man every time and did every possible thing to make him resign. Adem was a tough man and was quite determined to perform his duty.

The real twist of the show was when Adem came to know that it was Yasemin who staged the entire scenario with a gang regarding receiving the death threats.

Yasemin’s only motto was to divorce his abusive husband, who made her life difficult. She was ready to go beyond her limits to leave him, but how does Adem reacts to that? The real question arises as to whether he will expose Yasemin or will lend his support to her.

Cast: Melisa Pamuk, Cerkan Kayoglu
Genre: Romance/Action
Episodes: 9
Network: Kanal D
Released: 2020
IMdb Rate: 7.1/10
Streaming Platform: YouTube

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Camdaki Kiz

Camdaki Kiz portrays the story of a young girl who was suppressed throughout her entire life. She was subjected to restrictions in everything she did. Nalan lives a disciplined life because of her mother and has never dated anyone till today.

She works as an interior designer in Koroglu company. The male lead, Sedat, is the son of the Koroglu family, who works in the same office as Nalan. Sedat’s behavior and character caught the Koroglu family’s attention, and they wanted her to be their daughter-in-law.

Sedat was already having an affair, but he couldn’t deny his father’s orders, and on the other hand, he was not ready to leave his present girlfriend.

However, Nalan was on cloud nine after she got the proposal regarding her marriage, but how would she react when she knew that his to-be husband was already in a relationship?

The chemistry between the leads was on point; a lot of viewers resonated with Nalan’s character as well. The drama is well executed about a girl who was abused throughout her life and how it shaped her as a person. This drama is perfect for those who prefer dark family dramas with a fusion of romance.

Cast: Burku Biricik, Feyyaz Serifoglu
Genre: Family Drama, Romance
Episodes: 82
Network: Kanal D
Released: 2021
IMDB Rate: 5.6/10
Streaming Platform: YouTube

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Black And White Love

The story is ironically about two people who are completely different from each other. One saves people, and the other one who involved in illegal activities like murder. Asli is a devoted doctor who prioritizes her patients over herself.

Ferhat, after the death of his father, moves to Turkey with his family. To support them financially, he starts working with his uncle. Ferhat one day harms one of the enemy parties; his intention was just to threaten him, but unfortunately, he becomes seriously injured.

He quickly sent a notice to his team to bring an efficient doctor who could save him. Asli was approached by the team, and she immediately came in to rescue him, but she was confused as well.

Ferhat was quite impressed with Asli’s skills. Soon, Asli came to know about the background of Ferhat as well.

Despite that, they both fell in love; however, their road to love was not at all easy; they went through various trials and tribulations just to be together.

The show hooked the audience throughout the entire show and even bagged the title of best Turkish series from the fans.

Cast: Bircey Akalay, Ibrahim Celikkol
Genre: Romance, Drama, Action
Episodes: 32
Network: Kanal D
Released: 2017
IMdb Rate: 8/10
Streaming Platform: Disney Hotstar

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As The Crow Flies

As the crow flies represents the story of a young girl, Asli, who was tricked by her hunger for fame and money. Since her childhood, her dream was to become a news anchor, and the inspiration behind that was Lale Kiran. Lale is one of the most famous news anchors who has been in the industry for quite a long time.

Lale and her friend Kenan worked in the same office. They used to be in a relationship in their college days, but Lale soon realized that they were not meant for each other and broke up. However, they stayed as friends and continued working together.

Their whole life is turned down when Asli joins as an intern in the office; her passion soon turns into greed, and to acquire fame, she starts plotting against everyone in the office. Her main target was Lale, as she wanted to acquire her position.

The show captured viewers’ hearts with a refreshing story that was not just about romance; it provided us with many life lessons as well.

Cast: Birce Akalay, Ibrahim Celikkol
Genre: Drama/Romance
Episodes: 8
Network: Netflix
Released: 2022
IMDB Rate: 6.3/10
Streaming Platform: Netflix

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Doğduğun Ev Kaderindi

The drama ‘Dogdugun Ev Kaderindi’, also known as My Home My Destiny, is about Zeynep, whose life changes after she gets adopted. Zeynep’s family didn’t want to destroy her future as they were unable to provide her with proper education and facilities.

Zeynep gets adopted by a very rich family who provide her with all the luxuries of life. Growing up, Zeynep felt suffocated from inside about her true origin. She feels that she is cheating the people who trusted her. Her boyfriend, Faruk, proposes to Zeynep on her birthday.

Even though that marriage proposal made her happy, she was skeptical of letting him know the truth about her. Her actual mother also works in their house as a helper; after knowing about her boyfriend, Zeynep’s biological mother strongly denies the marriage.

She arranges a date for Zeynep with a boy from her locality named Mehdi. Mehdi was a very simple man; on the first date itself, their chemistry sparked, and the viewers saw a potential connection between them.

But the last season of the show created havoc between the fans after the death of Mehdi as his character was the main highlight of the show.

The drama received positive responses from the audience, but many people believed that killing Mehdi’s character was quite unnecessary.

Cast: Ibrahim Celikkol, Demet Ozdemir
Genre: Drama/Romance
Episodes: 43
Network: Tv8
Released: 2019
IMdb Rate: 6/10
Streaming Platform: YouTube

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Kuzgun

The drama depicts the story of Kuzgun, who saw the destruction of his family at a very young age. His father was cheated by his best friend and went to jail without any fault. Kuzgun was kidnapped by the same thugs who falsely blamed his father.

Kuzgun somehow managed to run away from them, and when he came back home, he saw no one was there. Kuzgun’s childhood was full of pain and hardships, but he promised himself to take revenge upon those who destroyed their family.

Kuzgun makes a comeback after 20 years to make the Rifat family pay for their sins. Rifat’s daughter Dila and Kuzgun were quite close in their childhood and had a crush on each other. But after the war broke out between the family, they drifted apart.

Dila didn’t support her family and was always against their sinful acts. Kuzgun plans to use Dila to get his revenge easily.

The question arises: will Dila and Kuzgun be able to continue their long-lost love? How will Dila react when she knows about Kuzgun’s plan?

Kuzgun is a typical family drama that drives people with curiosity and suspense-driven theories as well.

Cast: Baris Arduc, Burku Biricik
Genre: Family Drama/Romance/Action
Episodes: 21
Network: Star TV
Released: 2019
IMDB Rate: 7.9/10
Streaming Platform: YouTube

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The Ambassador’s Daughter

The drama depicts the story of Sancar and Nare; their beautiful relationship breaks down because of a major misunderstanding. Nare is the daughter of a wealthy businessman; one day, she goes on a trip to a beautiful countryside village where Sancar resides.

Sancar helps his father in his business and lives a very simple life; his whole life changed after Nare arrived in his city. They both fell in love and, in a matter of time, decided to marry each other. Just before the night of their marriage, their dream to be together crumbles down.

Nare gets raped by her brother, and Sancar thinks that she is cheating on her. Everyone blamed her, and with a heavy heart, she left the village. Nare, soon after leaving the village, gave birth to their daughter, but she doesn’t let Sancar know about that.

Years after the same thing repeated, his brother started abusing her, and this time, she took a stand for herself and attacked him.

The fear of going to jail haunts her, and she doesn’t want her daughter to be alone. Nare took a brave step and went to Sancar to take care of her.

Nare was shocked to know that Sancar was still getting married, then she confronted and told him the truth. How will Sancar react to the truth? Will he accept their daughter, or will he go on with his endeavors?

To know how the drama further spices up things and whether they both end up together, don’t miss including this power-packed show in your next watch list!