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The Lizard (Kertenkele)

The Lizard (Kertenkele)

TV Series · 2014–2016 · 25 people

Kertenkele (The Lizard), called Kertenkele: Yeniden Doğuş in its last season, is an action, comedy, crime, romance and drama series that began on atv on October 25, 2014. Yalçın Şen produced it, and Hakan Kandal and Kemal Çelik wrote it. It is the Turkish adaptation of the 2004 film Marmoulak (The Lizard) by the Iranian director Kamal Tabrizi, and, like the film, it satirizes clerics, religion and the state of society. Kartal Çidamlı directed the first episodes, and Gülbin Aydın and Canan Çelik were the last directors. Episodes run about two hours.

The hero, played by Timur Acar, is a womanising professional thief; he gets his nickname from his ability to climb even a flat wall and from a lizard tattoo on his arm. Commissioner Ünsal has never managed to catch him. Kertenkele is caught while rescuing a child from a fire, goes to prison and meets an old imam in hospital. Escaping in the imam's clothes, he ends up leading prayers as Ziya Hoca in a neighborhood mosque. There he falls for Zehra (Sera Tokdemir), granddaughter of the real-estate tycoon Ekrem Bey, and Ünsal turns out to be Zehra's brother-in-law.

Timur Acar and Sera Tokdemir shared the leads in the first two seasons. In the third they left as the script required and the story changed; Ahmet Kayakesen, Asena Tuğal and Fatih Doğan took the leading roles. The series ran for three seasons and ended with its 85th episode on December 24, 2016.

Networkatv

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Cast

Alp Akar Alp Akar Actor · 20 years old Sezgin Asena Tuğal Asena Tuğal Actor · 42 years old Zeynep Şanlı / Masked Girl Ayşenaz Atakol Actor · 16 years old Bihter Dinçel Bihter Dinçel Actor · 44 years old Hale Özdemir Ceren Benderlioğlu Ceren Benderlioğlu Actor · 43 years old Seval Ahter Dilşad Şimşek Dilşad Şimşek Actor · 45 years old Emre Melemez Emre Melemez Actor · 51 years old Yarma Namık Erdinç Gülener Erdinç Gülener Actor · 55 years old Kimya Gökçe Aytaç Kimya Gökçe Aytaç Actor · 37 years old Merve Dizdar Merve Dizdar Actor · 40 years old İrem Selçuk Kılıç Selçuk Kılıç Actor · 42 years old Sera Tokdemir Sera Tokdemir Actor · 45 years old Zehra Şanlı Serkan Kuru Serkan Kuru Actor · 48 years old Timur Acar Timur Acar Actor · 46 years old Lizard / Hodja Ziya / Kara Faruk / Ahmet Şimşek Turabi Çamkıran Turabi Çamkıran Actor · 38 years old Umut Oğuz Umut Oğuz Actor · 49 years old Sinan Çalışkanoğlu Sinan Çalışkanoğlu Actor · 48 years old Eda Özerkan Eda Özerkan Actor · 42 years old Selin Anıl Çelik Anıl Çelik Actor · born 1988 Paytak Cezmi Selahattin Taşdöğen Actor · 75 years old Azmi Bulut Şemsi İnkaya Şemsi İnkaya Actor · 87 years old Ekrem Bey Doğaç Yıldız Doğaç Yıldız Actor · 35 years old Cüneyt Mine Teber Mine Teber Actor · 65 years old Asiye Bülent Polat Bülent Polat Actor · 47 years old Inspector Yılmaz Buse Arslan Buse Arslan Actor · 33 years old Didem

Also in the cast: Fatih Doğan (Hicabi/Akıncı)

Titles sharing this cast

Through different eyes

Series Binger A series devotee tracking character arcs, cast chemistry and season pacing.

The series' biggest test was its change of cast. For two seasons the story rested on Timur Acar and Sera Tokdemir; when both left for season three, the show had to build a bond with its new leads from scratch. A thief who blends into a neighborhood dressed as an imam is the kind of idea that risks repeating itself over a long run, and keeping it fresh across 85 episodes is no small task. An interesting case for viewers who accept ups and downs, but anyone wanting consistency from season to season may struggle.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

What makes Kertenkele interesting is that a satire from Iranian cinema has been moved into the neighborhood mosque of Turkey. A work that jokes about clerics and the state of society reaching a prime-time audience that may find the subject sensitive is itself a social indicator. The neighborhood, the mosque, a wealthy real-estate family: the series probes a small world built on trust and reputation through comedy. How deep the satire really cuts is debatable; the television format tends to soften sharp criticism.

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

The thief-turned-imam setup is a familiar pattern of mistaken-identity comedy; the real question is how it carries over episodes running close to two hours. That length turns a single TV episode into feature length, and the pacing inevitably wavers. Action, comedy, crime, romance and drama under one roof is a mix that often blurs tone. The boldness of the idea deserves credit, but it is doubtful whether the script structure truly needs this much running time in every episode. The tight shape of the original film seems to dissolve here.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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