The Pit (2017–2021)
The Pit is a Turkish action, drama series broadcast on Show TV, first aired in 2017–2021. The Koçovalı family controls Çukur, a crime-associated neighborhood in Istanbul. When a new group attempts to break the neighborhood’s ban on drugs, the family faces an escalating power struggle, intensified by the return of Yamaç Koçovalı.
The Pit cast: Aras Bulut İynemli (Yamaç Koçovalı), Erkan Kolçak Köstendil (Vartolu Saadettin/Salih Koçovalı), Kadir Çermik (Emmi), Perihan Savaş (Sultan Koçovalı), Mustafa Kırantepe (Medet), Rıza Kocaoğlu (Aliço).
Detailed content was compiled from sources with AI; pending editorial review. Editor: Uğur Arı.
Plot
Çukur follows the Koçovalı family, who control Çukur, a neighborhood in Istanbul associated with crime. Although the family is deeply involved in the criminal world, it enforces one central rule: drugs must not be produced, used or sold in the neighborhood. When a new group tries to break this rule, a conflict begins between the Koçovalıs and the forces seeking control of Çukur. Yamaç Koçovalı’s return reshapes the family’s internal balance, neighborhood solidarity and the power relations of the criminal world. The series explores family loyalty, neighborhood belonging, authority, violence and the tensions surrounding a changing urban environment.
Origins of the story
Adaptation status
The examined official Ay Yapım and Show TV pages do not identify a source work. No verified novel, story, book, film, series, play, memoir or historical work could therefore be named.
Connection to reality
The series is not presented as the story of a specific real event or real person. Academic studies nevertheless examine its neighborhood, informal social control, urbanization and belonging themes in relation to Turkey’s social and urban reality. These interpretations do not establish that the story was taken from a real family or neighborhood.
Iconic filming locations
The story setting and the real filming site are identified separately.
Balat and Ayvansaray Streets
Balat, Fatih · İstanbul · Türkiye
- Use in filming
- The series’ main neighborhood and street scenes.
- Place represented in the story
- Çukur/Koçova Neighborhood; sources state that no real neighborhood exists under this name.
- Scenes and context
- The fictional Çukur Neighborhood was represented on screen by streets around Balat and Ayvansaray.
İdris Baba Kahvesi / Coffeehouse used as Dostlar Kahvesi
Balat, Fatih · İstanbul · Türkiye
- Use in filming
- Neighborhood gatherings and coffeehouse scenes involving the Koçovalı family.
- Place represented in the story
- The neighborhood coffeehouse associated with the Çukur/Koçovalı family.
- Scenes and context
- Sources refer to the place by its fictional names Dostlar Kahvesi or İdris Baba Kahvesi; its current operating status is not verified.
Shopfront used as Koçovalı Aş Evi
Balat, Fatih · İstanbul · Türkiye
- Use in filming
- Soup-kitchen and neighborhood-shop scenes.
- Place represented in the story
- The Koçovalı family’s soup kitchen in Çukur Neighborhood.
- Scenes and context
- Sources identify it as a shopfront in Balat’s back streets; current business information is not verified.
Shopfront used as Muhittin’s Barbershop
Balat, Fatih · İstanbul · Türkiye
- Use in filming
- Scenes set in the barbershop and surrounding neighborhood.
- Place represented in the story
- Muhittin’s barbershop in Çukur Neighborhood.
- Scenes and context
- Sources place the shopfront in Balat’s back streets; current access is not verified.
Area around the Eiffel Tower
Paris · Paris · Fransa
- Use in filming
- Paris scenes involving Yamaç and Sena.
- Place represented in the story
- Not explicitly stated in the sources.
- Scenes and context
- Show TV explicitly reports filming around the Eiffel Tower during the first season.
Kreuzberg
Kreuzberg · Berlin · Almanya
- Use in filming
- Vartolu and Medet’s Berlin scenes.
- Place represented in the story
- The Berlin storyline involving Vartolu and Medet.
- Scenes and context
- Show TV confirms the Berlin shoot and scenes in which the characters reach Kreuzberg.
Location details were compiled from sources with AI assistance and are pending editorial review.
Trailer
Details
- Year
- 2017–2021
- Channel
- Show TV
- Genre
- action, drama
- Seasons
- 4
- Episodes
- 131
- Rating
- 7.5
Cast
Character Map
Hero
- ↳ Sena — partner
Anti-hero
- ↳ Sultan Koçovalı — spouse
- ↳ Yamaç Koçovalı — parent
Antagonist
Supporting
- ↳ Yamaç Koçovalı — parent
What's in this series?
Adaptation status
The examined official Ay Yapım and Show TV pages do not state that Çukur was adapted from another work. Consequently, no verified source work or adaptation difference can be provided. The series is presented on these pages as an Ay Yapım production written by Gökhan Horzum.
Neighborhood, city and informal authority
Academic studies examine Çukur’s neighborhood not merely as a setting, but as a symbolic urban space where belonging, reciprocity, social control and alternative authority are constructed. These readings connect the series to representations of urbanization and neighborhood experience in Turkey; they do not mean that the story was taken from a real neighborhood or family.
Family, masculinity and violence
Academic analyses discuss the series’ representations of masculinity and violence alongside family, loyalty, protection and neighborhood belonging. Some studies argue that presenting violence together with heroic and justice-oriented narratives may risk legitimizing violence. These are academic interpretations and do not prove any intention by the creators to encourage real-world criminal behavior.
Social responsibility and audience impact
The Show TV archive states that, during the series’ final period, a “Çukur Forest” project was undertaken in cooperation with TEMA Foundation, Show TV and Ay Yapım. This shows that the series’ broadcast brand was associated with a social-responsibility initiative; it should not by itself be treated as a measure of the series’ overall social impact.
Frequently asked questions
How many episodes is The Pit?
The Pit has 131 episodes across 4 seasons.
When did The Pit air?
The Pit first aired in 2017–2021 on Show TV.
Who is in the cast of The Pit?
The main cast includes Aras Bulut İynemli (Yamaç Koçovalı), Erkan Kolçak Köstendil (Vartolu Saadettin/Salih Koçovalı), Kadir Çermik (Emmi), Perihan Savaş (Sultan Koçovalı), Mustafa Kırantepe (Medet), Rıza Kocaoğlu (Aliço).
Sources
- Çukur — Ay Yapım
- Çukur - Tüm Bölümler Show TV'de — Show TV
- Çukur Dizisi Oyuncuları ve Karakterleri — Show TV
- Çukur dizisi oyuncuları kimdir? — Show TV
- 'Karanlık adamların aydınlık kadınları!' — Show TV
- Çukur'da neler oluyor? — Show TV
- “Karşılıklılık İlkesi” ve “Kentsel Toplum” Kavramları Çerçevesinde Çukur Dizisi Üzerine Bir Analiz — Erciyes İletişim Dergisi
- Mahalle Ölçeğinde Mekân Üzerinden İktidar Üretimi: Çukur Dizisindeki İktidar Temsillerinin Çözümlemeleri — ODTÜ Açık Erişim
- Anti-Kahraman Şiddetinin Meşrulaştırılması: 'Çukur' Örneği Üzerine Kesitsel Çalışma — Türkiye Klinikleri
- Popüler Kültürün Arka Yüzü: Genç Kadınlar Çukur’un Toplumsal Cinsiyet Söylemini Nasıl Okuyor? — Maltepe Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Dergisi
- Cukur - die Grube: Familien- und Männlichkeitskonstruktionen in der Diaspora — Angewandte Repository
