They observed Turkey's current problems and showed em to people by using quirky humour. Actors were superb screenwriting even better also decoration and costumes were near perfect for almost every skit. Just give it a try !
63 Reviews
Good kitsch
durcek7 June 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Try and take this series as an example of good kitsch --really, this series is neither crazy kind of funny that keeps the audience on the surface all the time nor it is as banal as some reviews here and elsewhere found it to be. But there is honest critique, not just frustrations and displacement of real-life situations with unlikely new situations, or not simply words, accents and bodies used to build comic material. There is comic spirit that wants to come to terms with the 80s, a period of going into anticipated oppression and neoliberal dilution of art and cultural production. I'm not suggesting Cem Yilmaz chose this motivation even deliberately, it could be just the time decor for the story, but the story definitely adopted troubles with the period. After all, his other works did not carry this tone much. With an added volume of neoliberalism (that values surface material all the more) in the country in the 2010s and 2020s, any worthy comedian cannot stay deaf to and uninspired by such motivation, nonetheless.
The character buildup for Ersan is worth seeing: episodes offer a closer look at the fiction character of Ersan Kuneri (whose name appeared as a knockoff of Sean Connery, gotta see Yilmaz's other movies' plots to make the connection). He's one amateur and inspired filmmaker, his original fictive name is Cemil Can Tarakli, his surface fictive name: Kuneri. An entrepreneurial character, his life of precarious jobs turned to porn-maker turned to foreign cigarette-smuggler in the 70s' Turkey turned to doing some jailtime around the coup. Then getting out and finding new motivation to make films unlike the earlier porn filmography, the persona wants to be true to his filmmaking ambitions and in that he is failing beautifully - until he turns to arabesk (the country's mode of culture, besides accepted and greatly promoted lifestyle in the 1980s and 1990s ). That's the end of season. Maybe he'll succeed after arabesk. Let's see... If I can borrow words from one of my favorite series, Futurama, there was the Bender, the lovable rascal. So, Ersan figure here becomes kind of another 'lovable rascal' to some of us. His team remains an earnest lot, in that they will be comical compared to the rest of the changes around them.
There are well-thought moments and absurd twists, which can clearly become more than constant or intense laughter. If there were more of those intense laughters, more people would be crazy about the show. If there were more of those constant laughter-materials, men who can't do without 'swearing' in their daily lives could still embrace those comic moments and repeat them in teen-spirited bro-meetings. But now many did find the series disturbing because there is so much slang and swearing in the show. Please. Suddenly disturbed by your real life?
Could this story be told without the slang and swearing? Could a character who's already involved in nightlife, running a bar and whose producer who formerly made sex movies wants to continue on that lane, open up to us by speaking clean, tidy, well-behaved Turkish? Could their cast of formerly sex movie stars look convincing if they didn't swear and use lots of slang?
Take the Cooperative Kemal episode: in one scene of a socialist movie they attempt to make, the father trying to calm down the furious bride-to-be swears at the bride unexpectedly, as if words of love, and everybody in the room is super cool with that, the urbanized and elegant sisters included. Instead, they go on to shush the bride-figure who's cursing and getting more furious. Why not take this part of a comic scene that is larger than a few reckless laughters? TV, news, morning shows in the country are full of male characters who treat their female family members and acquaintances worse than they would treat their dicks. Which one is less funny, the show or that part of us? If you don't see the scene that way, if you say that such a hint on sexism was not flowing into the plot, okay, choose to take it so. But do so by knowing that many figures who've been disturbed by the slang and swearing in the series can also be regularly swearing in their daily lives. Honestly, watching the whole thing twice, I couldn't convince myself that slang and swearing were down-factors. The character build-up has more veins that slang to baffle the audience. FYI: elsewhere on a TV program, Cem Yilmaz dropped some hints on why this jargon, why swearing in the joke remains.
Some scenes in Cem Yilmaz movies are cartoon-like. Always. That's inevitable due to his history as a cartoonist. Watching the series for the first time, those bits make one giggle and giggle more. But the cast is more than cartoons. Watching the series a second time, I didn't laugh with the same intensity; instead, details, gestures, plot, a time depicted in the movies struck me as more fundamentally comical. A few friends had a similar impression upon watching: we have realized again that the country has become more and more conservative compared to what's in the show. We were children in the 80s. We knew that was more in tune with the decade's mode of living. The shorts, the manners, the fights, and the small steps of arabesk in daily life... something about these is more decent, relaxed and real than what we have now. Perhaps I feel obliged to add this because I remember a common reaction to his most recent couple of movies, Comidark movies. After I watched them in the theatre, even the ticket-girl sneered at them: not the usual Cem Yilmaz, she said. He lost it (the comic vibe) they say, she added. I don't know, I had to reply. He seemed to be after something that is more than laughters on the surface. I was able to find the comic vibe in them. I could watch those as part of a transformative phase in his trajectory. But we live in a country that has become super-uncomfortable with transformation. That itself is one of the comical features of this place. Perhaps, Ersan Kuneri needs to be considered with that transformation.
The character buildup for Ersan is worth seeing: episodes offer a closer look at the fiction character of Ersan Kuneri (whose name appeared as a knockoff of Sean Connery, gotta see Yilmaz's other movies' plots to make the connection). He's one amateur and inspired filmmaker, his original fictive name is Cemil Can Tarakli, his surface fictive name: Kuneri. An entrepreneurial character, his life of precarious jobs turned to porn-maker turned to foreign cigarette-smuggler in the 70s' Turkey turned to doing some jailtime around the coup. Then getting out and finding new motivation to make films unlike the earlier porn filmography, the persona wants to be true to his filmmaking ambitions and in that he is failing beautifully - until he turns to arabesk (the country's mode of culture, besides accepted and greatly promoted lifestyle in the 1980s and 1990s ). That's the end of season. Maybe he'll succeed after arabesk. Let's see... If I can borrow words from one of my favorite series, Futurama, there was the Bender, the lovable rascal. So, Ersan figure here becomes kind of another 'lovable rascal' to some of us. His team remains an earnest lot, in that they will be comical compared to the rest of the changes around them.
There are well-thought moments and absurd twists, which can clearly become more than constant or intense laughter. If there were more of those intense laughters, more people would be crazy about the show. If there were more of those constant laughter-materials, men who can't do without 'swearing' in their daily lives could still embrace those comic moments and repeat them in teen-spirited bro-meetings. But now many did find the series disturbing because there is so much slang and swearing in the show. Please. Suddenly disturbed by your real life?
Could this story be told without the slang and swearing? Could a character who's already involved in nightlife, running a bar and whose producer who formerly made sex movies wants to continue on that lane, open up to us by speaking clean, tidy, well-behaved Turkish? Could their cast of formerly sex movie stars look convincing if they didn't swear and use lots of slang?
Take the Cooperative Kemal episode: in one scene of a socialist movie they attempt to make, the father trying to calm down the furious bride-to-be swears at the bride unexpectedly, as if words of love, and everybody in the room is super cool with that, the urbanized and elegant sisters included. Instead, they go on to shush the bride-figure who's cursing and getting more furious. Why not take this part of a comic scene that is larger than a few reckless laughters? TV, news, morning shows in the country are full of male characters who treat their female family members and acquaintances worse than they would treat their dicks. Which one is less funny, the show or that part of us? If you don't see the scene that way, if you say that such a hint on sexism was not flowing into the plot, okay, choose to take it so. But do so by knowing that many figures who've been disturbed by the slang and swearing in the series can also be regularly swearing in their daily lives. Honestly, watching the whole thing twice, I couldn't convince myself that slang and swearing were down-factors. The character build-up has more veins that slang to baffle the audience. FYI: elsewhere on a TV program, Cem Yilmaz dropped some hints on why this jargon, why swearing in the joke remains.
Some scenes in Cem Yilmaz movies are cartoon-like. Always. That's inevitable due to his history as a cartoonist. Watching the series for the first time, those bits make one giggle and giggle more. But the cast is more than cartoons. Watching the series a second time, I didn't laugh with the same intensity; instead, details, gestures, plot, a time depicted in the movies struck me as more fundamentally comical. A few friends had a similar impression upon watching: we have realized again that the country has become more and more conservative compared to what's in the show. We were children in the 80s. We knew that was more in tune with the decade's mode of living. The shorts, the manners, the fights, and the small steps of arabesk in daily life... something about these is more decent, relaxed and real than what we have now. Perhaps I feel obliged to add this because I remember a common reaction to his most recent couple of movies, Comidark movies. After I watched them in the theatre, even the ticket-girl sneered at them: not the usual Cem Yilmaz, she said. He lost it (the comic vibe) they say, she added. I don't know, I had to reply. He seemed to be after something that is more than laughters on the surface. I was able to find the comic vibe in them. I could watch those as part of a transformative phase in his trajectory. But we live in a country that has become super-uncomfortable with transformation. That itself is one of the comical features of this place. Perhaps, Ersan Kuneri needs to be considered with that transformation.
How good feels my soul
kaya_fatih197811 June 2022
The characters that went from color to color colored my mood and thoughts. It got me excited. I laughed a lot. I am said. The generic closing music always gave me happiness. Why I don't know, it affected me a lot. Thank you to those who contributed to this successful production. I have a request; I would like to see Cengiz Bozkurt in the next episodes.
None of the episodes makes any sense but hey that's the whole point of this entire sitcom :D
suek-5646210 September 2022
Ahahaha I just binged Ersan Kuneri, but couldn't get enough. :D Thankfully we will continue to learn what he has in his portfolio in 2. Season. It's interesting to see Turks who do everything with their kids trying to make adult movies and series.
I come accross too many negative reviews on social media regarding the adult language used in Ersan Kuneri. Who cares. It's barely a tvMA but most people from conservative and religious background find this sitcom inappropriate which is actually a great hint for the level of freedom of thought and freedom of speech in a westernized Muslim society.
Ersan is one-of-a-kind so far. Lovely, charming, vibrant, glowing and most importantly a hysterically funny production. More like a mockumentory. A former, good-natured but unfortunate porn star is trying to make regular movies and gain respect and acceptance among his colleagues. Just like all of us. Gives a lot of clues on highly conservative Turkish culture, understanding, world view, background, history, relationships, etc.
Evidently Turks has still a brutal censor both in their minds and in rules and regulations. You gotta watch Ersan first if you are planning to go to Turkey guys and gals!
I come accross too many negative reviews on social media regarding the adult language used in Ersan Kuneri. Who cares. It's barely a tvMA but most people from conservative and religious background find this sitcom inappropriate which is actually a great hint for the level of freedom of thought and freedom of speech in a westernized Muslim society.
Ersan is one-of-a-kind so far. Lovely, charming, vibrant, glowing and most importantly a hysterically funny production. More like a mockumentory. A former, good-natured but unfortunate porn star is trying to make regular movies and gain respect and acceptance among his colleagues. Just like all of us. Gives a lot of clues on highly conservative Turkish culture, understanding, world view, background, history, relationships, etc.
Evidently Turks has still a brutal censor both in their minds and in rules and regulations. You gotta watch Ersan first if you are planning to go to Turkey guys and gals!
Good job
ozgurulasozcan24 May 2022
Colorful characters, great comedy
erenbesiroglu18 May 2022
Cinematography is high point in this series. This is peak cinematography in turkish movie/series industry. Color,dresses, camera angles are really feels like you are in 80's.every character is well written,original and perfect acted. Its very fun to watch and the samples of old turkish movies taken is so well used. Cem yilmaz is directed and written this series very good overall.
I enjoyed it a lot! Three times in a row :)
tahiragaoglu23 August 2022
I do like all of Cem Yilmaz's work and Ersan Kuneri is my new favorite. I am already so excited to see more of Ersan Kuneri in the future, additional episodes as well as cameos etc.
From all the set designs, scripts, styling to acting I enjoyed watching this series more than any other production this year. The general idea is brilliant, the topics and mini movies in the series are very clever written but very easy to understand and digest. Watch it alone or with company, its awesome.
From all the set designs, scripts, styling to acting I enjoyed watching this series more than any other production this year. The general idea is brilliant, the topics and mini movies in the series are very clever written but very easy to understand and digest. Watch it alone or with company, its awesome.
Do not make the mistake I did
ahmetgokcekolukisa18 May 2022
I watched first two episodes and rated the entire series as 5. I was thinking that it was not worth to watch and watching will be waste of time despite the very talented high profile team. Please continue watching a few more episodes before you decide the show is not worth to watch. In case you decide not to watch please do not make the mistake I did and rated the series less than it deserves. Only one episode left for us to watch at the moment and the current feeling we have is sadness, since there will be no more after this one. DOYAMADIK : )
Only if You understand
onurtrade28 June 2022
Hit or miss
Chef7414 May 2022
After reading the reviews with no real review and polarized ratings of 1 and 10's, I actually expected a cult movie like "Dunyayi Kurtaran Adam". But this isn't.
The series starts with Kuru Murad which is kind of unfortunate. In my opinion, this is one of the worst episodes. It is pretty much horny teenager jokes. Maybe they wanted to characterize porn industry as just genitals and no brains. Whether this is real depiction or just sarcasm, tasteless it is nonetheless. To be clear Netflix did a great job translating to English, so 90% of those silly Turkish jokes made it to the subtitles.
I saw that people wrote that there is no story. To be fair Seinfeld or Friends were also shows about nothing. They didn't have a real story or a real message. But the writing and execution were superb. So you can make a movie with no real story line and succeed. This Netflix series is NOT that. At least it is not consistent. The writing and acting is hit or miss. I would rate some episodes 3 while some others 7-8.
The first episode was a mock of Kara Murat. They did an awful job. Almost unwatchable. I forced myself to watch the 2nd episode; that was kind of funny with some signature Cem Yilmaz jokes. Episode 3 goes down again; totally pointless. Episode 4 becomes absurd and funny and so on.
If you are native Turkish speaker and you can ignore the first episode, you may find episodes that you can like. If you are American, you may also find some good jokes (English translation is not bad).
PS: I am not trying destroy Turkish cinema. What is this automatic reaction to any negative reviews? Please don't be "hamamcilar birligi baskani".
The series starts with Kuru Murad which is kind of unfortunate. In my opinion, this is one of the worst episodes. It is pretty much horny teenager jokes. Maybe they wanted to characterize porn industry as just genitals and no brains. Whether this is real depiction or just sarcasm, tasteless it is nonetheless. To be clear Netflix did a great job translating to English, so 90% of those silly Turkish jokes made it to the subtitles.
I saw that people wrote that there is no story. To be fair Seinfeld or Friends were also shows about nothing. They didn't have a real story or a real message. But the writing and execution were superb. So you can make a movie with no real story line and succeed. This Netflix series is NOT that. At least it is not consistent. The writing and acting is hit or miss. I would rate some episodes 3 while some others 7-8.
The first episode was a mock of Kara Murat. They did an awful job. Almost unwatchable. I forced myself to watch the 2nd episode; that was kind of funny with some signature Cem Yilmaz jokes. Episode 3 goes down again; totally pointless. Episode 4 becomes absurd and funny and so on.
If you are native Turkish speaker and you can ignore the first episode, you may find episodes that you can like. If you are American, you may also find some good jokes (English translation is not bad).
PS: I am not trying destroy Turkish cinema. What is this automatic reaction to any negative reviews? Please don't be "hamamcilar birligi baskani".
This was exactly what Turks needed the most at this moment
Rosy19237 September 2022
The mainstream understanding of good comedy in Turkey is mostly political satire which gets so boring, dull, repetitious and outdated over time. Ersan Kuneri in the opposite is a light, enjoyable, colorful, different, absurd, unexpected, relatable and sometimes an emotional roller coaster but I wouldn't have it any other way. I really enjoy watching powerful female characters. I am so impressed that Cem Yilmaz covers up the severe bitterness with such cute goofiness. I think that's the most I love about Cem Yilmaz. I would vote Ersan Kuneri as the best and only Turkish sitcom made for adult audience of all time. Everyone on this show is so witty and delivers their lines superbly that it's hard not to like all of them equally: They are not trying to be funny, their characters are silly enough to make every situation they involve funny. :) A very cozy show. Feeling blue? Watch this sitcom. Feeling happy? Watch this sitcom. Feeling bored? Watch this sitcom. In between classes? Watch this sitcom. Work lunch break? Watch this sitcom. It's my comfort show, and I will forever love it. Interestingly, never fails to entertain its audience. I have yet to find another Turkish show that is remotely close to the level of entertainment this show can provide. This sitcom will be just like Cem Yilmaz' stand up shows which you can watch over and over and again, yet never find yourself getting bored from it and laugh like you watch the first time. You will enjoy reciting the transcript lines with the characters after a while. This is also a good Turkish sitcom if your native language isn't Turkish and you are willing to learn that fascinating language. Not many shows are just as funny today as they were 15-20 years ago but Ersan Kuneri will be absolutely one of those shows. He sure raised the bar to the sky one more time!
not good but okay
MovieandTheaterMaster23 May 2022
Mediocre at best
badreviewer19 May 2022
It doesn't necessarily mean that it's good just because it's better than today's Turkish TV. I smirked a lot throughout the series, but I don't remember a single moment when I laughed out loud. I could have evaluated it differently if it was done by someone who has just entered the sector, but when you look at this cast and budget, it's normal for people to have some expectations. Unfortunately, it did not meet the expectations.
Feels good
mustafahsndmr13 May 2022
Ersan Kuneri
jack_o_hasanov_imdb31 May 2022
Obviously not very good.
But Cem Yilmaz is the best comedian in Turkey and I think my opinion will never change. This series is fun, yes we didn't laugh a lot, but it's fun. In general, it is around 6-7 points, but I like Cem Yilmaz and I give a little too much points.
But Cem Yilmaz is the best comedian in Turkey and I think my opinion will never change. This series is fun, yes we didn't laugh a lot, but it's fun. In general, it is around 6-7 points, but I like Cem Yilmaz and I give a little too much points.
Perisan Kuneri
choisewww-572-96594121 May 2022
Zafer Corumlu
derya-sezen29 June 2022
Such a talented man who can shape in any role, incredible! He should be the only one who has been given distinct characters in every episode which makes him unique compared to others.
One should expect that he should get an award with his performance. Although there are so many bad jokes in the episodes, IMHO it is too much, the performance of Zafer makes it great!
One should expect that he should get an award with his performance. Although there are so many bad jokes in the episodes, IMHO it is too much, the performance of Zafer makes it great!
Sadly not fun as i expected
eceaksoy9422 May 2022
Is the tempo good? Yes.
Are the characters fun to watch? Yes.
Do any of the episodes make sense? No.
Unfortunately, the ups and downs of adventures the movie producer Ersan was not good enough to satisfy. Of course we may not realize some of the hidden messages of episodes since i don't know every detail of Turkish cinema. But we got it.
The series criticize the way our cinema handling things. The thing is Cem Yilmaz also shows a piece of what he could do in the second half of every episode and the product was no better than what people had in that period of time. So, kuru murat or erman or faqbadi... I did enjoy some of the pun intended jokes but it was a overdo.
So i watched all of it and enjoyed, not because of the storyline but the actors were really good to watch and it was refreshing to see our local celebrities bringing life to various characters on Netflix. How much potential they have and how much little they can actually show impresses me all the time. I hope to see better productions with much better storylines.
Are the characters fun to watch? Yes.
Do any of the episodes make sense? No.
Unfortunately, the ups and downs of adventures the movie producer Ersan was not good enough to satisfy. Of course we may not realize some of the hidden messages of episodes since i don't know every detail of Turkish cinema. But we got it.
The series criticize the way our cinema handling things. The thing is Cem Yilmaz also shows a piece of what he could do in the second half of every episode and the product was no better than what people had in that period of time. So, kuru murat or erman or faqbadi... I did enjoy some of the pun intended jokes but it was a overdo.
So i watched all of it and enjoyed, not because of the storyline but the actors were really good to watch and it was refreshing to see our local celebrities bringing life to various characters on Netflix. How much potential they have and how much little they can actually show impresses me all the time. I hope to see better productions with much better storylines.
I will laugh for those who cannot :d
MeltemVntsn15 September 2022
The criticism of toxic masculinity and toxic femininity throughout the series could only be explained so perfectly in only 8 episodes. In fact, a documentary should be made on the philosophy in this series. From the refugee problem to the real causes of drug addiction, to the populism that humiliates the people by making a living as a populist, from the tradition of ripping off the tradesmen to the politicians for sale, etc., there is no subject left in the country that he has not touched, the more he mentioned the problems the more he cursed. What was he supposed to do? Bu yanlislari yapanlara kufretmeyip mavi boncuk mu dagitsaydi?... :d Almost a mockumentary. The genius of Cem Yilmaz is that he can convey such heavy topics with satire and humor, and that he can tell us about our weeping and dejected states by making us laugh. It will become a cult movie like most of his other films. For those who do not like Cem Yilmaz's style and if his ideas and philosophy do not mean anything, there is nothing to do. Tastes and colors are too personal to dispute, I will watch one more time for those who cannot because of the cursing.
Keep it up ! Up up in the sky
okanbsd13 May 2022
He is a great actor and writer but if you start watching it with that feeling and opinion, most likely you will be disappointed. I liked the idea of this project however it did not meet my expectations. I gotta admit that he is one of his kind but maybe we have to be more understanding, cause everyone expects him to do better things than gora which is the best, has been done years ago. Hence, some times even for Cem Yilmaz, creativity is a level that can not be easily reached. But I still respect him.
Lots of great reference to old Turkish movies and a lot of sarcasm
berkay-mete14 June 2022
I also need to mention the soundtrack is amazing from start to end. It was a really joyful journey throughout the whole series and coming from a Turkish background, I think it represents the era quite well. Cem Yilmaz and his crew never disappoint. Great acting, great music and great humour. I see some people here commenting otherwise, but you need to be aware of the background of the story to understand the whole concept. And these days, people's expectations are so high that they can't really pay attention to detail.
Boring, disgusting, not funny
nurkesgin6 June 2022
Costumes and production are not bad. But the jokes and the content are very mediocre and disgusting. I find it an insult to audience intelligence just like so many other turkish series. What they understand by freedom of internet platform is way different than what I understand, It means watching anytime anywhere ect not sexcual content and jokes about peoples genitals. Very dissaponting. It wasted my time.
Gets better and better
keterpele21 June 2022
When I watched the first two episodes, I was a bit disappointed but that is because I was expecting to witness Ersan Abi to make movies that are a comedy soft porn and live like he came out of a Freddie Mercury party. But with the third episode, I started to like it immensely. For me, the third episode is the best along with the last. The comedy, the acting, the satire is just so good in those. Hell, the songs he made for the last episode are better and sound more catchy than those so called singers that we are exposed to listen. As you re-watch you start to catch these little bits that you miss on your first go and really appreciate the work that they put in. It is highly underrated right now, but gonna be a classic in the future. I hope there is gonna be more of this.
I love it
mericaksin1 June 2022
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