As Turkish TV series continue to grip more and more viewers around the world, even American celebrities are finding out about some of Turkey’s biggest shows. American rapper Cardi B, known for hits like Girls Like You, Taki Taki and I Like It took to Twitter to surprise her followers by tweeting about the show.
In her post she revealed her new obsession with a series of tweets and retweets, saying “I hate Nurbanu.”
Cardi B tweets about her new obsession
Nurbanu Sultan was the chief consort of the Ottoman Sultan Selim II, who reigned between the years of 1566 and 1574. Her character in the show is one of the bigger ones as she is the wife of Prince Selim and later becomes the mother of the new ruler of the Ottoman empire.
I hate Nurbanu 😒😒
— Cardi B (@iamcardib) July 7, 2020
She also went on to discuss other aspects of the show such as her love for the leading female character in the series: Hurrem Sultan. In the show, as in real life, Hurrem is a concubine that Suleiman the Magnificent marries, much to the chagrin of the royals. She showed her appreciation for Hurrem when someone praised Nurbanu.
Read more: Why do Pakistanis criticize stars of Turkish drama ‘Ertugul Ghazi’?
Sorry hunny HÜRREM IS THAT ! https://t.co/dxolSS9aP8
— Cardi B (@iamcardib) July 7, 2020
Later on she even went to express her deep sadness for the death of Hurrem. In a separate tweet she wrote: “I couldn’t even sleep. Thinking bout Hurrem’s death. I feel so heartbroken. This is crazy”
Turkish shows conquering the world
The show known as “Magnificent Century” has been dubbed and run in many channels all around the world. It is also being discovered on streaming services. The show chronicles the life of Sulemain the Magnificent the longest ruling Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, with a focus on the royal family and his wife Hurrem.
Magnificent Century, which successfully aired here as Mera Sultan on Geo Kahani was a sizable hit in Pakistan as well. The show is currently the biggest Turkish show in the world.
Read more: Turkish drama Ertugrul criticised for all the wrong reasons
It is credited with making Turkey a hotspot for tourists around the world and especially from the Middle East. With Pakistanis having been swept away by their historical and contemporary dramas, Turkey has really taken over the world with its TV dramas. Indeed Turkey is expected to earn $1 billion in TV series exports by 2023.
For many, the success of Mera Sultan can explain why Ertugrul which is more male-centric has become such a giant hit in Pakistan as it can rightly be seen as a precursor to Ertugrul. But the success of these shows here goes to show how quickly audiences are finding foreign content.
America has been traditionally known to be stubborn to view dubbed and subtitled content but with breakouts like Money Heist and Dark making marks even in countries like Pakistan, that is rapidly changing. Audiences are no longer restricted in their choice of content given the high quality of overseas TV series. The fact that even Cardi B is hooked on to Turkish series is just proof of how more and more people, from all walks of life are rapidly embracing foreign series.