Shahmaran (TV series)

Shahmaran (Şahmaran) is a Turkish fantasy-drama Netflix series directed by Umur Turagay and written by Pınar Bulut. The show, which stars Serenay Sarıkaya and Burak Deniz in the lead roles, was released on 20 January 2023.

Netflix is set to release the show's second season on 8 August 2024.

Synopsis
Şahsu, a psychology lecturer from Istanbul, goes to Adana for work and decides to confront her grandfather, who abandoned her mother many years ago. While there, she becomes involved with a community that worships Şahmaran, a mythical creature that is half woman, half snake, who are waiting for the completion of a historical prophecy. Her life is transformed when she meets a mysterious man named Maran.

Cast and characters

 * Serenay Sarıkaya as Şahsu
 * Almina Günaydın as young Şahsu
 * Burak Deniz as Maran
 * Mustafa Uğurlu as Davut
 * Mahir Günşiray as Ural
 * Mert Ramazan Demir as Cihan
 * Hakan Karahan as Lakmu
 * Elif Nur Kerkük as Medine
 * Mehmet Bilge Aslan as Salih
 * Berfu Halisdemir as Diba
 * Nilay Erdönmez as Hare
 * Nil Sude Albayrak as Bike
 * Öznur Serçeler as Gül
 * Ebru Özkan as Çavgeş

Reception
Three days after its release, the series had been watched a total of 17 million hours worldwide.

A critic at Cumhuriyet praised the cinematography and actors but was disappointed with the "dissonance" between the "reality of the region" and the characters' behaviour, citing excessive nudity and out-of-context scenes that do not match the old Turkish traditions of the region they were filmed in. The critic also likened Maran's family to the Cullens in Twilight.