New Shows, New Stories: Emin Günenç and İlsu Demirci Are Moving On

Well, Arafta may be moving into another chapter, but apparently Emin Günenç and İlsu Demirci have decided they’re not waiting around for the fandom to emotionally recover. Honestly? Respect.

Emin has officially joined Kanal D’s Haysiyet, stepping into the role of Ender — and because Turkish dramas apparently cannot introduce a new character without attaching a complicated romantic history to them, Ender is Simay’s former love. Yes. Former love. So you already know this man is not arriving peacefully, drinking his coffee and minding his business. Emin is set to enter the story from episode six of the Süreç Film production, which stars Kerem Alışık, Doğukan Güngör and Merih Öztürk. The series revolves around two very different families, with Mehmet and Simay’s relationship caught somewhere in the middle of all that family drama, power and emotional chaos. Basically, exactly the kind of environment Turkish television seems to manufacture in a laboratory.

For Emin, Haysiyet marks another opportunity to step away from Ateş and show audiences something different. And honestly, that is the part I’m most curious about. Once an actor becomes strongly associated with one character, the real test is whether they can walk into another series and make you forget the previous one.

Meanwhile, İlsu Demirci is also booked and busy.

The actress, who Arafta viewers know as Mercan, has landed a role in Centilmen, the upcoming MF Yapım series for NOW. İlsu will play Ece, the great love of Kaan Miraç Sezen’s character, Arif. And because apparently one complicated family is never enough, the story also features Vahide Perçin as Süreyya Altınkıran, the powerful matriarch at the centre of the family and business dynamics.

İlsu’s move is particularly interesting because Ece gives her the chance to step into a completely different character following Mercan. And if there is one thing I actually enjoy about the Turkish drama machine, it is watching actors shake off the character we have become attached to and surprise us somewhere else. Because no, Emin is not Ateş. And İlsu is not Mercan. As painful as that may be for certain corners of the internet to accept. The reality is that actors move on, projects end, new roles happen and fandoms eventually have to unclench their fists and let them act somewhere else.

So while Arafta fans are still processing everything from that particular universe, Emin has walked straight into Haysiyet, İlsu is heading into Centilmen, and I have a feeling both casting announcements are going to give us plenty to talk about.

My watchlist just got longer.

My free time just got shorter.

Turkish television, as usual, remains personally committed to my downfall.