“After an episode where the heroine leaves an abusive husband, my mother had a long talk with my sister about red flags in relationships,” says Tekla, a 24-year-old student from Tbilisi. “The series gave them a language to discuss things that were previously taboo.”
This commercial success has had an unintended consequence: a decline in locally produced Georgian fiction series. Producers complain that it is cheaper to buy Turkish series rights and dub them than to fund original scripts. Some see this as a cultural loss; others argue that the popularity of Turkish dramas has raised audience expectations for production value and storytelling quality. The influence of turquli serialebi extends into real-life Georgian discourse. Discussions about domestic violence, forced marriage, class inequality, and mental health — themes frequently tackled in Turkish dramas — have become dinner-table topics in Georgia, sometimes for the first time. turquli serialebi qartulad natargmni
Translators face a unique challenge: preserving the poetic, sometimes melodramatic Turkish dialogue while making it sound spontaneous in Georgian. “Turkish is rich in idioms about fate, blood, and fire,” says Mariam, a translator who has worked on over 20 series. “Georgian has its own poetic soul. You can’t translate literally — you have to find the emotional equivalent.” “After an episode where the heroine leaves an