Why did Çimen change in Kızılcık Şerbeti, and who is the new Çimen, Asena Keskinci?

15 September 2026 — The most asked question around Kızılcık Şerbeti (Cranberry Sorbet) has an answer: Asena Keskinci will play Çimen, Kıvılcım's daughter, in the new season. Show TV's official series page and Habertürk announced it on the morning of 15 September, and set photos distributed by Gold Film circulated at the same time. Season 5 of the series, produced by Faruk Turgut, written by Melis Civelek and Zeynep Gür and directed by Özgür Sevimli, starts on Friday 18 September at 20:00 on Show TV. The official announcement introduced Keskinci as one of "the star actors of the young generation" and listed Barış Kılıç, Evrim Alasya, Ahmet Mümtaz Taylan, Seray Kaya, Erkan Avcı, Özge Borak and Emre Dinler in the cast. It did not mention the previous holder of the role.

Who was Çimen, and why did the role change?

Çimen is the daughter of Kıvılcım Arslan, played by Evrim Alasya; Selin Türkmen had played her since the first season. According to Onedio on 6 May 2026, journalist Birsen Altuntaş reported that Türkmen left the series of her own accord at the season 4 finale. The same report recalls that the actress had left once before and returned a few seasons later, making this her second departure. Neither the actress nor the production has publicly given any other reason; "by her own choice" is a journalist's account, and this page marks it as such. The character continues without being written out: Çimen is the same Çimen with a new face. Recasting is not rare in Turkish television, but for a young character followed for four seasons it always stirs debate.

Who is Asena Keskinci?

According to her Turkish Wikipedia biography, Reyhan Asena Keskinci was born in Istanbul on 20 April 2001 and began acting as a child in 2004. A wide audience knows her as Yağmur Ertürk in Bez Bebek (2007–2010); in 2010 she was named best child actor of the year at the TRT Women's Awards. She later appeared in the series Hırsız Polis, Köstebekgiller, Masumiyet and Adı Sevgi, and in cinema played Yasemin in Nuri Bilge Ceylan's The Wild Pear Tree (Ahlat Ağacı, 2018). After Mimar Sinan Fine Arts Anatolian High School she studied at Istanbul University State Conservatory. Her most recent work is the lead in Jasmine, the HBO Max series released in 2025–2026; the Kızılcık Şerbeti announcement also described her as the actress "who drew attention with her performance in Jasmine". This site has pages for Bez Bebek, Masumiyet and Jasmine; her actor page comes from the TMDB cast record.

Who else left and joined in season 5?

According to Türkiye Gazetesi, alongside Selin Türkmen, Feyza Civelek (Nilay), Neslihan Yeldan, Barlas Kartal and Ceren Karakoç also left the production, while Murat Aygen joined as the character "Lider". When Onedio published the first set photo on 8 September it wrote that Barış Kılıç and Evrim Alasya remained from the core cast; the official announcement's cast list is broader. The previous major change has its own file on this site: Sıla Türkoğlu, who played Doğa, left at episode 113 and Seray Kaya took over the role. Kızılcık Şerbeti has thus continued two of its main young characters with new faces within two seasons. Filming began on 25 August 2026, according to Türkiye Gazetesi.

When does the new season start, and how many episodes are there?

According to Wikipedia the series has aired 138 episodes over four seasons; season 5 begins with episode 139 on Friday 18 September 2026 at 20:00. TMDB's schedule lists the season as weekly Friday episodes; this site's episode list draws on the same schedule and marks future episodes as "scheduled", because the broadcaster can change the calendar. The series has aired on Show TV since 28 October 2022 and is one of the most searched titles in this archive by Turkish monthly search volume; its Arabic page runs as "شراب التوت", its Russian page as "Клюквенный щербет" and its Serbian page as "Jedino ljubav".

The new look and the first pictures

Cumhuriyet and Mynet wrote that Keskinci changed her image for the role and that the first pictures from the set drew attention on social media. No source describes what changed (hair colour, cut, wardrobe), and this page does not describe it either. Onedio's report of 8 September carried the first set photo but no detail on her appearance. Audience reaction is not yet measurable: the character has not appeared on screen, and social media comments so far concern the announcement and the photo.

What does a recast mean for viewers?

Keeping a character while changing the actor is an established practice in Turkish television; the script usually does not explain the change, and the new face simply appears inside the story. In Kızılcık Şerbeti, Çimen carries the youth storyline within Kıvılcım's family, so the change weighs more than a supporting role would. This site's cast record comes from TMDB and lists Asena Keskinci as "Çimen Arslan"; Selin Türkmen does not appear in the TMDB cast list, which is why she has no actor page here. The character's surname varies across sources (Arslan/Ünal); the official announcement says only "Kıvılcım's daughter Çimen", and this page uses that wording.

Known and unknown

As of 15 September 2026, known: Asena Keskinci is the new Çimen, the first episode airs Friday 18 September at 20:00 on Show TV, Selin Türkmen left at the season 4 finale by her own choice, four more actors left the cast and Murat Aygen joined. Unknown: the details of Türkmen's reasons and her next project, how many episodes Keskinci will appear in, what the image change consists of, and how the audience will receive it. This page relies only on public sources and will be updated after the first episode airs.