Damn Istanbul (Ulan İstanbul) (translated)

Kanal D started the Turkish series Ulan İstanbul ("Damn Istanbul") on June 23, 2014. Mixing action, comedy, adventure and romance, and sometimes also labeled a crime drama, it is made by D Productions, directed by Murat Onbul and written by Uğraş Güneş. The single-season show ended with its 39th episode on March 23, 2015; the broadcast finale on television came on February 9, 2015, while the last six episodes were released only online.

The spark of the story is a family patriarch who goes to prison for con-artistry. Backed into a corner, the rest of the family has to follow in his footsteps to raise enough money to free their father, and they begin scamming "bad" people, mostly those who grew rich by dishonest means. The schemes move at a brisk pace, helped along by dark humor and romantic subplots, and different districts and layers of Istanbul serve as the stage for these games.

The leading roles are shared by Uğur Polat, Şebnem Bozoklu, Erkan Kolçak Köstendil, Kaan Yıldırım, Sevtap Özaltun, Caner Özyurtlu and Salih Bademci. Fırat Tanış, Emre Kınay, Ezgi Eyüboğlu and Bahtiyar Engin are among the others in the large ensemble. Despite its short life, the series carved out a niche with its unusual gallery of characters and offbeat humor.