Prens

The Prince (Prens)

TV Series · 2023 · 6 people

Prens ("The Prince") arrived in June 2023 as a Turkish comedy series. Made for streaming, its first two seasons came out as BluTV originals, and the third reached viewers on HBO Max under the "Max Originals" label. Produced by MGX Film, it grew to 23 episodes over three seasons and won the Golden Butterfly Award for Best Comedy Series. Its origin is unusual: a character born on Giray Altınok's social media account drew so much attention that it was eventually turned into a series.

The story is set in the fictional country of Bongomia, whose history and whose people nobody cares about. After the sudden and suspicious death of King Thun, the throne passes to the Prince, whom no one takes seriously and whose family never bothered to give him a name, and a tangled chain of events begins. Altınok, one of the creators, plays the Prince. He is joined by Serdar Orçin, Ceyda Düvenci (Queen Sion), Aslı Tandoğan (Anarkhia), Bahadır Vatanoğlu (Larg), Çağdaş Onur Öztürk and Derya Pınar Ak, among others.

Altınok wrote the screenplay with Kerem Özdoğan, and Bülent İşbilen and Gökdeniz Uslu directed. The first episode's premiere gala took place at UNIQ Istanbul with the cast and crew attending.

Production companyMGX Film
NetworkBluTV, HBO Max

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Through different eyes

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

Prens's boldest move is building a world entirely its own in the fictional country of Bongomia. Turning a character born on social media into a series is risky, since the energy of short-form content doesn't always stretch to episode length. Giray Altınok and Kerem Özdoğan's script meets that risk with an absurd palace story that begins when a prince whose family never even bothered to name him takes the throne. Bülent İşbilen and Gökdeniz Uslu's direction takes care to keep this absurd world consistent. At times the density of jokes can seem to get in the way of dramatic momentum, yet the Best Comedy Series award shows the formula found its audience.

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

Three seasons, 23 episodes: Prens is a perfect weekend binge. A prince nobody even bothered to name suddenly finding himself on the throne is enough to keep you wondering what comes next from the first episode. Characters like Ceyda Düvenci's Queen Sion and Aslı Tandoğan's Anarkhia make good partners for Giray Altınok. The move to HBO Max for the third season might make it a bit harder to keep up. And one more thing: absurd humour isn't for everyone, and if it doesn't click for you, the episodes may feel long.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

Prens is a palace comedy set in an imaginary country. It may have a fairy-tale setting, but I don't think it's meant for small children. Since it was made for streaming, its language and jokes may be aimed at adults, so watch a few episodes yourself before sitting down with the kids. For teenagers and adults, it's a fun and different kind of comedy.

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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