Summer 2024 is the season of sport, with Euro 2024 and Wimbledon dominating TV schedules – but that could be harming the BBC’s new crime drama The Turkish Detective.
The new BBC drama, based on a collection of novels by Barbara Nadel, began on Sunday night on BBC Two, with the second episode due tonight at 9pm.
The eight-episode thriller follows EastEnders star Haluk Bilginer as Inspector Cetin Ikmen as he goes deep into Istanbul’s dangerous criminal underworld.
Described as ‘ridiculous’ and promising ‘new feuds in an ancient city’, The Turkish Detective will air on Sundays and Mondays until it wraps up on July 28.
However, those eager to binge the entire series can do so on BBC iPlayer, where all eight episodes have been available to watch since Sunday.
And it hasn’t taken long for the good word to spread.
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On Twitter, user @Ceeing42 couldn’t wait to get started: ‘Fascinatingly gorgeous place, Istanbul. To my surprise this evening stumbled on The Turkish Detective on BBC Two while waiting for Wimbledon to go away on BBC One!’
@VaseemKhanUK sang the series’ praises: ‘Ep.1 of The Turkish Detective, on BBC, based on the books by Barbara Nadel was excellent. I love the books and this really captures their essence, with a charismatic cast and a gritty plot.’
User @ThatStewBailey said: ‘We watched The Turkish Detective starring Haluk Bilginer as Inspector Ikmen. Haluk was Mehmet Osman in Eastenders back in the day, it was an enjoyable watch, like a Turkish Bergerac.’
@JonHorley2 celebrated the premiere: ‘Love The Turkish Detective, which debuted tonight on BBC Two. Engaging with warmth, humour, realistic characters (no buffoonery), amid the often clashing societal lines of modern Istanbul.’
Despite the love for it on premiere night, it seems quite a lot of people will have to flock to iPlayer to stream brand new episodes, with the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage currently dominating British TV schedules.
As Wimbledon enters the second half of the tournament, tennis matches between the best players in the world can stretch for three, and even four hours.
This means planned TV coverage can sometimes be changed at the last minute as the likes of Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz play long into the night in a bid to win the tournament.
BBC One’s coverage of Wimbledon ended at 9.30pm last night, which meant people watching the tennis will have missed the first half an hour of The Turkish Detective’s first episode.
On Twitter, @PippaRoman didn’t mince their words: ‘Totally f**king sick of this s**t on TV! Absolutely taking liberties with our license fee! This crap should be on BBC Two and not ruining my enjoyment.’
@IanWynburg agreed: ‘Why is it that football and tennis is taking over both BBC1 and BBC 2 at the moment. What about the viewers who do not like these sports and still pay their license fee? It should be one channel or the other, not both.’
This coming weekend will also see the Euro 2024 final begin at 8pm UK time and finish close to 10pm, which means the live broadcast of The Turkish Detective on July 14 might have its viewing figures affected by the football.
And when the last episode of The Turkish Detective airs on July 29, there’s a chance people could be watching the BBC’s coverage of the Olympics in Paris instead.
Creators of the thriller series will be hoping that word of mouth is positive so that people tune in on iPlayer after the sporting festivities have concluded on the Sunday and Monday nights.
The series also stars Ethan Kai, best known for his work on Killing Eve and Emmerdale, and Yasemin Kay Allen, a star of Turkish TV and cinema for over a decade.
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The Turkish Detective continues Sundays and Mondays on BBC Two or you can catch all eight episodes on iPlayer.
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