It was only a few years ago that serious Middle East experts were debating the ever-growing Turkish “soft power” in the region, measuring it with the increasing popularity of Turkish soap operas mostly in Muslim countries. Times have changed, but the TV series industry in Turkey remains lively. Turkish politicians are not shy to comment about the TV shows. “Magnificent Century,” a TV series inspired by the Ottoman Sultan “Suleiman the Magnificent” and his omnipotent wife Hurrem, was the latest show that glued millions of Turks to their sets. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized the show for disrespecting “our ancestors.” Did the sultan spend so much time with his harem or was he on horseback conquering infidel lands? was the intriguing question the public debated.

Turkish state TV, TRT, aired the first episode of a controversial show, dubbed “Kizil Elma” (Red Apple), on Jan. 15. The first scene was quite telling. Two Turkish conscripts on the Syria-Turkey border courageously attacked 200 armed men. These two soldiers do not inform their brigade or seek permission before engaging the well-armed, civilian-clothed “enemy.” They become instant heroes, making it onto the news. As the producer of the show, Osman Sinav informs us, the two soldiers are indeed one and a half men, for Murad Altay, or the Turkish James Bond, is the real man behind the action. His companion is a naive, uneducated, satirical character, who resembles Sancho Panza in Don Quixote. The Turkish James Bond (Murad) appears on the news, screaming the motto of the show: “Live for your country, die for your love!” 

Just at this point, the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) enters into the picture. And this is the part that makes this show newsworthy. This is the first TV series that clearly uses the MIT name and focuses on the agency explicitly. An overweight, middle-aged, rather aggressive red-haired lady appears as the second-in-charge of MIT and she single-handedly recruits Murad from military service to the MIT. He becomes a MIT agent and government employee overnight. To be fair, Murad bargains with his new boss before accepting the offer and asks for a red '68 Mustang along with other nonmaterial incentives to join MIT. His boss accepts all the conditions and brings the Mustang, only to detonate the car after handing Murad the keys. The red-haired iron lady informs Murad never to act spoiled again! So if suspense is what you desire, the series surely promises violent surprises.

The producer of the show, Sinav, is no stranger to Turkish or foreign audiences, because his now 11-year-old TV series and movie “Valley of the Wolves” received perhaps as much attention from academia as from the entertainment world, a reflection of how ultranationalist feelings can be stroked through the film industry. Sinav explains that "Kizil Elma" is about “Turkey's goals” and “these goals are by 2023 being a regional power, by 2071 being a world power.” In his words, we see an alignment with AKP’s much reiterated objectives. One Twitter user asked, “Can MIT recover its image as collaborator of PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) with folk songs and hot guys?” The Central Asian Turkic theme song seems to be the high point of the show so far.