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Ayse Farsakoglu (Yasemin Kay Allen), Mehmet Suleyman (Ethan Kai), Cetin Ikmen (Haluk Bilginer)© Paramount/BBC

The Turkish Detective writer talks season 2 and hopes for show's future - Exclusive

Writer and executive producer Ben Schiffer sat down with HELLO!

Nicky Morris
TV and film writer
July 30, 2024
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The Turkish Detective writer Ben Schiffer has "loads of ideas for season two" should the show return. The BBC crime drama, which stars Haluk Bilginer and is based on Barbara Nadel's best-selling novel series, has been a word-of-mouth hit amongst viewers since making its debut  in July. 

While the BBC has yet to give the green light for season two, Ben is "hopeful" that fans will be seeing more of Inspector Çetin Ikmen and detectives Süleyman and Farsakoğlu in future seasons. 

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When asked if the drama will return for a second season, Ben told HELLO!: "I would love there to be one and I'm hopeful there will be. But I can't give any exclusive announcements just yet."

Considering the show is adapted from Nadel's long-running novel series, Ben has plenty of material to work with when it comes to writing more episodes. "There's a kind of cliffhanger element at the end of the last episode, or definitely a mystery to be solved," he said. "I've definitely got loads of ideas jotted away of what we could do. I think that's one of the lovely things about the show is we could do loads of it and that would be great."

Ayse Farsakoglu (Yasemin Kay Allen), Cetin Ikmen (Haluk Bilginer) in The Turkish Detective
© BBC/Paramount
The series is based on Barbara Nadel's best-selling novel series

Explaining how he became involved with the project, Ben revealed that he was approached by the show's producers and inspired to pen the series after reading the first novel, which was released in 1999.

"Inspector Ikmen just sort of leapt off the page as this really incredible, potentially iconic character who feels quite different to me to a lot of TV detectives. So I love that," he said, adding: "Then also the idea of using Istanbul as a backdrop was also really attractive."

Cetin Ikmen (Haluk Bilginer), Ayse Farsakoglu (Yasemin Kay Allen), Mehmet Suleyman (Ethan Kai)© Paramount/BBC
Haluk Bilginer, Yasemin Kay Allen and Ethan Kai star in the series

Filming took place back in 2022 over a period of six months. So if the BBC were to give the go-ahead on season two, we'd expect the series to arrive in 2025 at the earliest. Until then, fans will just have to keep their fingers crossed!

For those yet to catch up on the series, it follows Met Police detective Mehmet Suleyman, who arrives in Istanbul from London to join the homicide unit led by talented and eccentric Inspector Çetin Ikmen. Over the course of eight episodes, the crack team of detectives solve crimes across the city. 

Mehmet Suleyman (Ethan Kai) in The Turkish Detective© BBC/Paramount
The BBC have yet to confirm a second season

The full synopsis reads: "Set in the multi-faceted city of Istanbul, The Turkish Detective follows the adventures of Inspector Çetin Ikmen (Bilginer), his partner Detective Mehmet Süleyman (Ethan Kai) and Detective Ayşe Farsakoğlu (Yasemin Kay Allen) going through ups and downs as they solve crimes, with each crime story being heavily rooted in the varied culture and history of Istanbul and set against the frenzied world of modern-day Turkey."

The Turkish Detective is available on BBC iPlayer.

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