Synopsis

When his adoptive father Neşet is killed, young shopkeeper Hakan Demir’s world gets turned upside down as he learns that he is connected to a secret ancient order tasked with protecting Istanbul from an immortal enemy. With the assistance of Kemal and his daughter Zeynep, members of the secret order of the Loyal Ones, Hakan embraces his family’s legacy as “The Protector,” and the duty to kill the last Immortal (Faysal) and prevent the destruction of the city. Along the way, however, he falls for Leyla and struggles to choose between his responsibilities and his newfound love. Disregarding his training and duties as “The Protector” leads to disaster at the end of Season One.

In action-packed Season Two, Hakan has to deal with multiple resuscitated Immortals and a long-lost brother, whose intentions are murky. As Leyla gets out of the picture, Hakan draws closer to Zeynep. Season Three sees Hakan, Zeynep, and a whole new group of Loyals deal with the Immortal-induced pandemic and Vizir, the seventh Immortal, who is even more powerful than Faysal. To fight this new enemy, Hakan will have to travel to the past and meet his First Protector ancestor, Harun. In “The Protector’s” final season the Immortals have taken over Istanbul, and Zeynep is made to collaborate with them. Hakan learns about Harun and Valerya’s relationship in the past, and finally understands Vizir’s motives for revenge in the present. He thus decides to change the past in order to save the future.

General Information

Created by Binnur Karaevli, “The Protector” is loosely based on the novel “Karakalem” by N. Ipek Gökdel. It was produced by O3 Turkey Medya in collaboration with Netflix and shot during the summers of 2018 and 2019 on various locations in Istanbul. It was directed by several people, including Umut Aral (13 episodes); Gönenç Uyanik, Can Evrenol, Burcu Alptekin (5 episodes each;) and Gökhan Tiryaki (4 episodes.)

In total, “The Protector “consists of 32 episodes of 45-50 minutes each released by Netflix over the course of four consecutive seasons. The first season dropped on the Netflix global digital platform on 14 December 2018. The following three seasons were released on 26 April 2019 (S2); on 6 March 2020 (S3); and on 9 July 2020 (S4.)

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In addition to Çağatay Ulusoy, “The Protector’s” cast included: Hazar Ergüçlü; Ayça Ayşin Turan; Okan Yalabık; Engin Öztürk; Burçin Terzioglu; Funda Eryigit; Boran Kuzum; Taner Ölmez; Big Önal, Yurdaer Okur; Mehmet Kurtulus; Saygin Sosal; and many other excellent Turkish actors.

Tackling the fantasy/action genre for the very first time in Turkey, “The Protector” offers a very unique Middle Eastern superhero saga, whose development over four seasons is both interesting and riveting, especially thanks to Çağatay Ulusoy’s fine interpretation. “The Protector” registered remarkable success on a global scale with more than 20 million views around the world, and ranks among the top ten most-viewed international series on Netflix.

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