Disney Plus has halted the production of Turkish series

Disney Plus

It’s shocking news for fans of Turkish dramas. The highly anticipated launch of Disney Plus in Turkey has ended in a complete failure. The platform is ceasing the production of Turkish content. What happened and what will become of the stars’ contracts?

Digital platform Disney Plus, which entered the Turkish market last year, has made the decision to stop producing new projects until the end of 2024. It is reported that Disney Plus will only release those Turkish shows that have already been filmed. These include the series “Atatürk” starring Aras Bulut İynemli, “Rüya” starring Meryem Uzerli, “Numen” starring Halit Ergenç, “The Turk” starring Can Yaman,  “Ayten” starring Ezgi Mola, “Personality” starring Haluk Bilginer, and the film “Mortal World”. All other projects have been postponed until the end of 2024.

According to renowned journalist Birsen Altuntaş, the collaboration agreements with Turkish stars will be transferred to Disney’s sister company, FOX. Therefore, Turkish stars will work with FOX TV, but their TV shows will not be released on Disney Plus. The actors are bound by contracts with FOX TV and cannot work on other platforms or channels.

It should be noted that Disney has faced financial difficulties after several high-profile failures and is currently reviewing its budget, suspending the production of its shows in multiple countries. Turkish content from Disney has been axed due to the fact that the Turkish branch of Disney Plus has failed to produce a series that would capture the attention of international viewers. Interestingly, the main competitor, Netflix, achieved great success worldwide with its first Turkish original project, the series “The Protector,” allowing the Turkish branch to flourish.