Bir Başkadır (2020)
Bir Başkadır is a Turkish drama, mystery series broadcast on Netflix, first aired in 2020. In Istanbul, people from different social, religious and cultural backgrounds cross paths after Meryem seeks psychiatric help. Their encounters expose suppressed emotions, family tensions and the assumptions they hold about one another. Looking for something similar? See the criteria-based guide Short Turkish series: completed shows with 30 episodes or fewer.
Bir Başkadır cast: Öykü Karayel (Meryem), Funda Eryiğit (Ruhiye), Fatih Artman (Yasin), Defne Kayalar (Dr. Peri Aksoy), Tülin Özen (Gülbin), Alican Yücesoy (Sinan).
Editor: Uğur Arı
Plot
Meryem, a young woman from a conservative neighbourhood on the outskirts of Istanbul, works as a domestic cleaner and seeks psychiatric help after experiencing unexplained fainting spells. Her psychiatrist, Peri, is educated and secular but holds strong prejudices toward religious and headscarf-wearing people, making their therapeutic relationship tense from the beginning. Around Meryem are her brother Yasin, Yasin’s wife Ruhiye, who is struggling with the effects of a severe past trauma, the local religious authority Ali Sadi Hodja and his daughter Hayrünnisa. Peri’s psychiatrist friend Gülbin faces conflicts involving her family, identity and sense of belonging. Meryem’s work also brings her into contact with Melisa and a wealthier secular social circle. As the stories intersect, the characters’ fixed judgments are challenged and several of them begin to confront suppressed feelings and difficult memories.
Origins of the story
Adaptation status
No reliable source identified the series as an official adaptation of a novel, story, film, series, play, memoir or historical work. It is presented as an original series written and directed by Berkun Oya.
Connection to reality
The series is not presented as an adaptation of a specific real event or person. Academic and critical studies discuss it in relation to contemporary Turkey’s social, religious, class and cultural divisions.
Trailer
Details
- Year
- 2020–2020
- Channel
- Netflix
- Genre
- drama, mystery
- Seasons
- 1
- Episodes
- 8
- Rating
- 7.8
Cast
Character Map
Hero
- ↳ Yasin — sibling
Anti-hero
- ↳ Gülbin — friend
Supporting
- ↳ Ruhiye — spouse
- ↳ Sinan — partner
- ↳ Hayrünnisa — parent
Character
- ↳ Sinan — partner
What's in this series?
Social divisions in everyday life
Academic studies read Ethos through the secular-conservative divide, class, religious identity, centre-periphery tensions and encounters between different lifestyles. The series makes these divisions visible not only through political discourse but also through therapy, family, neighbourhood, work and friendship.
Therapy, prejudice and power
The therapeutic relationship between Meryem and Peri opens a discussion about the power imbalance between therapist and patient and the effect of personal prejudice on treatment. Academic studies examine the series through psychotherapy ethics, multicultural therapy and otherness.
Berkun Oya’s original Netflix series
Netflix lists the production as an eight-episode drama released in 2020. Academic sources identify Berkun Oya as its writer and director. Its official international Netflix title is Ethos.
Academic and public reception
After its release, the series became part of discussions about identity, representation, the visibility of headscarf-wearing women, class and cultural polarisation in Turkey. Academic studies examine its portrayals of religious and secular lifestyles, gender and encounters between cultural groups.
Frequently asked questions
How many episodes does Bir Başkadır have?
Bir Başkadır has 8 episodes in total across 1 seasons.
When did Bir Başkadır air?
Bir Başkadır (Bir Başkadır) first aired on 12 November 2020 on Netflix.
Who is in the cast of Bir Başkadır?
The main cast of Bir Başkadır includes Öykü Karayel (Meryem), Funda Eryiğit (Ruhiye), Fatih Artman (Yasin), Defne Kayalar (Dr. Peri Aksoy), Tülin Özen (Gülbin), Alican Yücesoy (Sinan).
Is Bir Başkadır based on a true story?
The series is not presented as an adaptation of a specific real event or person. Academic and critical studies discuss it in relation to contemporary Turkey’s social, religious, class and cultural divisions.
Sources
- Bir Başkadır izlemenizi bekliyor | Netflix Resmi Sitesi — Netflix
- Watch Ethos | Netflix Official Site — Netflix
- Ethos — Netflix Media Center
- Waking Up in Someone Else’s Bed: On Ethos (Bir Başkadır), Netflix, Turkey, 2020 — Participations / Taylor & Francis
- Participations: Journal of Audience and Reception Studies — Participations
- Bir Başkadır üzerine akademik tez — Marmara Üniversitesi Açık Arşiv
- Bir Başkadır Dizisinin Güç Dinamikleri ve Psikoterapi Etiği Bağlamında İncelenmesi — Akademik Hassasiyetler
- Toplumsal değişim bağlamında başörtülü kadın temsili: Bir Başkadır dizisi örneği — Marmara Üniversitesi Açık Arşiv
- Bir Başkadır ne kadar başka? — bianet
- Bir Başkadır — TMDB Rusça yayın adı — TMDB
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