Icerde (2016-2017) is a Turkish masterpiece and a pioneer in the genre for action-filled mafia crime dizis in the country. With 39 well-crafted episodes written by Ertan Kurtulan and Toprak Karaoglu that have a perfect blend of drama, suspense, action, humor and romance; enacted by a talented ensemble cast led by Cagatay Ulusoy, Aras Bulut Iynemli and Cetin Tekindor; a suspenseful but haunting musical score by Toygar Isikli; and an action-packed directorial mastery by Uluc Bayraktar, maintains Icerde as a tight story that is widely appreciated by global audiences as movie making genius.

Inspired by Martin Scorcese’s Oscar-winning American gangster flick The Departed (2006), which in turn is inspired by Hong Kong’s Infernal Affairs (2002), all three stories center around the concept of mutual infiltration of a crime gang and the police force, as the two sides get into a cat and mouse game of having the last word. Icerde liberally borrows plot devices from both earlier versions but makes the story entirely its own by bundling in the powerful love of family, a relentless fight for justice and a willingness to sacrifice so that good can win over evil.

Focused on the stories of Sarp Yilmaz (Cagatay Ulusoy), a police cadet tasked with infiltrating Celal Baba’s (Cetin Tekindor) mafia gang, and Umut Yilmaz (Aras Bulut Iynemli), Sarp’s younger brother who was kidnapped as a toddler and groomed by Celal to infiltrate the organized crime division, Icerde showcases how through all the trials and tribulations faced by the Yilmaz brothers, the one thing that guides their ethos is their deep desire to reunite as brothers. By the end of episode one, Sarp was “Icerde” (Insider) in Celal’s gang and Mert/Umut was “Icerde” in Director Yusuf’s division. Only Yusuf knows that Sarp is an undercover policeman; and only Celal (and one other) knows that these two are brothers, taking a twisted pleasure in pitting them against each other while playing the puppeteer in this game of life.

Performances
Icerde’s choice to make an action drama also an epic tale driven by love for family makes it a very relatable and beautiful human story, which is the bedrock of Turkish productions. A mother’s pain and her never-ending hope; a brother’s love and his unfailing quest; a little boy’s search under the halo of his forgotten reality; young girls looking for love; women looking for protection; men looking for father figures; sons waiting for fathers; criminals looking for redemption, and those that are beyond repair,  – are all depicted beautifully.

All of Cagatay Ulusoy, Aras Bulut Iynemli and Cetin Tekkindor shine in their layered portrayals of their characters.

All actors for the other major roles for Yusuf, Fusun, Melek, Eylem, Yesim, Daud, Alyanak and Coskun were great in their given parts, creating distinct personalities that allow the audience to grow with the characters as the show progresses.

Even though Icerde is produced on the shoulders of giants such as Scorcese’s The Departed and the critically acclaimed Infernal Affairs franchise, it still manages to become a prized trophy in the Turkish showcase of dizis. Not to be missed.

Copyright (c) mh
This review originally appeared on Dizilah, here

#Icerde #EnglishReview #TurkishDrama #TurkishMasterpiece #CagatayUlusoy #ArasBulutIynemli #CetinTekindor

On Monday, May 4, ShowTV will be starting reruns of Icerde, a 2016-2017 crime drama that broke all sorts of ratings records during its 39 episode run. It will air every evening.

Icerde is led by Cagatay Ulusoy and Aras Bulut Iynemli, both shining stars in the crowded field of dizi actors. Cagatay, who was already famous from his loverboy roles in Adini Feriha Koydum and Medcezir, reinvents himself as the gangster Sarp, who is really an undercover cop. For Aras, Icerde is his breakthrough role as Umut Yilmaz/ Mert Karadag.

In this action-packed dizi, the first of its genre for Turkey, Cagatay stands out as Sarp Yilmaz, a resolved and unwavering cop, with a spine made of steel. Inspired by Martin Scorcese's The Departed, Icerde manages to remain a quintessentially Turkish show, with action, drama, love and family portrayed beautifully. The ratings for the show never fell below 7 during its run, being one of the first shows that completed the season as planned. It is also one of the top shows to have been syndicated internationally, to great success in Latin America and other markets.

For more information on the show, you can visit our filmography page or browse through earlier posts.

Available in English before Adini Feriha Koydum , “Medcezir” is the 2013 series that shot Cagatay into international stardom, leading to his first Golden Butterfly award for Best Actor and ELLE Style awards. Co-starring with an ensemble cast that included Serenay Sarikaya, Taner Olmez, Hazar Erguclu and Baris Falay, Medcezir is loosely based on the FOX series The O.C.  The adaptation deviated significantly from the original, giving it a life and rhythm of its own. Cagatay’s Yaman Koper and Serenay’s Mira Beylice brought a beautiful love story to life, set against the backdrop of the social tensions that exist within the rich enclave of fictitious Altinkoy. A stunning production featuring an all-star cast, air tight script from a team led by Ece Yorenc, and an astounding soundtrack from Toygar Isikli, Medcezir became the 5th most successful Turkish TV series in terms of net sales. In addition, Cagatay reveals himself as a formidable musical talent and sang many of his own songs on the show. Medcezir received the Seoul International Drama Award in 2015, and the award was received by Cagatay Ulusoy and Ece Yorenc, on behalf of the team.

Continuing his work with the same director from Medcezir ( Ali Bilgin ) and under the auspices of the same producers ( Ay Yapim ), Cagatay transformed himself into Baris Ayaz for a full-length movie called “Delibal”.  Cagatay prepared for 6 months for this role, taking drumming lessons and studying people with mental health issues, so that he could believably essay the role of a talented musician and student of architecture, who also struggles with bi-polar disease.  In addition to his acting prowess as Baris, Cagatay lent his voice to the song “Mutlu Sonsuz”, the principal song for the movie’s music track.  Playing alongside Leyla Lydia Tugutlu, the movie was a critical and commercial success.

In 2016, Cagatay became the face of “Colin’s” clothing brand in Turkey and, together with Victoria’s Secret model Taylor Hill, shot the commercial Bize Uyar for the company.  He is also said to have directed a short film titled “Home”, which focused on the homeless in Los Angeles, but the film has not been seen by a wider audience.  Later in the year, he took on the lead role of Sarp Yilmaz, a resolved, unwavering, undercover policeman with a spine made of steel in the action-packed dizi “Icerde”, the first of its genre for Turkey.  Inspired by Martin Scorcese's The Departed, Icerde manages to remain a quintessentially Turkish show, with action, drama, love and family portrayed beautifully. Starring alongside Aras Bulut Iynemli, who plays the lost brother, Umut, that undercover cop Sarp is desperately searching for in the gang he infiltrates, the 39-episode Icerde broke all sorts of domestic records and the ratings never fell below 7.  It is also one of the top shows to have been syndicated internationally, to great success in Latin America and other markets.  Cagatay cut an amazing hero figure in the form of Sarp and proved himself a worthy brother, son and partner. His performance won him the Turkey Youth Awards two years in a row, with his first one for Baris in Delibal.

2018 – Present: Netflix & New Frontiers
Cagatay’s domestic success and international appeal led to him being selected as the lead for Netflix’s first original Turkish production “The Protector”, a series based on the book Karakalem, written by Ipek Gokdel.  Playing the role of a reluctant superhero, who is bestowed with special responsibilities and powers due to his lineage, Cagatay brings to life the complexities of a maturing young man who has to learn to embrace his destiny.  The global release of the 10 episode Season 1 proved to be hugely successful for Netflix with more than 10 million views within the first four weeks.  Even though the storytelling caters to a young, modern audience, and the style is vastly different than that of a traditional dizi, Cagatay’s acting as Hakan Demir was layered and true to a young man struggling with competing pressures on his heart and mind.  Acting alongside other popular names such as Hazar Erguclu, Ayca Aysin Turan and Okan Yalabik, Netflix will drop Season 3 on March 5 2020, while the audience eagerly awaits Seasons 4, rumored to hit the screens later this year.  For his role as Hakan, Cagatay received the Golden Lens Award and Best Actor – Internet Platform (by Ayakli Gazete ).

In the Fall of 2019, it became known that Cagatay will be directing his own project “Azadlik Saka” (“Freedom Bird”) based on a script he authored in collaboration with Toygar Aydin. News on filming or release schedules are not yet available.

Cagatay is now firmly established as an internationally recognized icon for Turkey, both as an actor and a person. He is known for his humanitarian efforts and supported a charity event in May 2019, hosted by the Monk Foundation in Tbilisi, Georgia, visiting children with cancer. For a young man who has achieved such stardom, Cagatay remains inspiringly humble, protective of his private life and is deeply loved by both fans and industry peers. His hobbies include basketball, painting, music, fishing, deep-sea diving, among others.


For more information:

https://www.cagatayulusoynorthamerica.com/filmography.html

You can watch The Protector on www.netflix.com

You can visit the IMDb profile pages for shows and other actors listed in the article

(C) North America TEN, CUNA & mh