The Turkish Passion

The Turkish Passion is a 2024 Spanish-Turkish drama series directed by Iñaki Peñafiel and released globally on Netflix. It is a contemporary adaptation of Antonio Gala's best-selling novel La pasión turca, which previously inspired Vicente Aranda's 1994 film. The series stars Maggie Civantos as Olivia, a Spanish professor of Fine Arts, and İlker Kaleli as Yaman, her Turkish lover.

The story opens with Olivia waking up in an Istanbul hospital after a suicide attempt. While being questioned by investigators, she reconstructs her overwhelming passion for Yaman, the life she left behind in Spain, and her entanglement in an antiquities-smuggling ring. Told across two timelines, the show explores desire, obsession, betrayal, and the cultural clash between East and West.

The six-episode series premiered on Atresmedia's Atresplayer in March 2024, aired in prime time on Spain's Antena 3 in May 2024, and became available worldwide on Netflix on June 28, 2024 (excluding the MENA region). Produced by Buendía Estudios and Atresmedia, it was filmed on location in Istanbul and Madrid, blending Turkish settings with Spanish storytelling.