| Native Name: | Kara Sevda number 1 |
| Genre: | Drama Love Thriller |
| Director: | Hilal Saral |
| Starring: | Neslihan Atagül Burak Özçivit Kaan Urgancıoğlu Orhan Güner Neşe Baykent Zeyno Eracar Rüzgar Aksoy Barış Alpaykut Hazal Filiz Küçükköse Burak Sergen Zerrin Tekindor Melisa Aslı Pamuk Gökay Müftüoglü Ali Burak Ceylan |
| Composer: | Toygar Işıklı |
| Country: | Turkey |
| Language: | Turkish |
| Num Seasons: | 2 |
| Num Episodes: | 74 |
| Producer: | Kerem Çatay |
| Runtime: | 113–158 minutes |
| Company: | Ay Yapım |
| Network: | Star TV |
Endless Love (Turkish: Kara Sevda, literal translation Dark Love) is a Turkish drama series produced by Ay Yapım and broadcast on Star TV between 2015 and 2017.[1] Directed by Hilal Saral, it stars Neslihan Atagül, Burak Özçivit and Kaan Urgancıoğlu. In 2019, it premiered in South Africa on EExtra as Bittersoet dubbed in Afrikaans.
The series has become a milestone in the international history of Turkish series, receiving the International Emmy Award for Best Telenovela in 2017,[2] [3] [4] and becoming the first Turkish series to win the award.[5] [6]
Similarly, Kara Sevda received the special jury award at the Seoul International Drama Awards.[7]
Four years after the end of Kara Sevda, the series was awarded as The Best International Soap Opera at the Soap Awards France 2021.[8] Burak Özçivit and Neslihan Atagül were the only Turkish actors nominated for Best International Actor and Best International Actress, respectively.[9] [10]
According to Can Okan, founder and CEO of Inter Medya, the international distributor of the series, "words are useless when talking about the success of Kara Sevda".[11] [12] It has become one of the most watched Turkish series in the world,[13] being broadcast in more than 110 countries with successful audiences and has been translated into more than 50 languages.
During its broadcast in the United States through Univision, it became the most watched foreign soap opera and the Turkish series with the highest audience. Kara Sevda remains the most watched series in Hispanic prime time, with more than 2 million viewers every day, and close to 4 million in its final episode.[14]
Such has been the overwhelming success of the series that in the Wax Museum of Tashkent City Park in Uzbekistan, two figures of Kemal and Nihan are exhibited,[15] the main characters of the series, in the part dedicated to Istanbul.
Kara Sevda
Kemal Soydere is the son of a middle-class family; Nihan is the daughter of wealthy socialites Önder and Vildan Sezin, and also has a twin brother Ozan whom she loves dearly. Önder's business is slowly falling apart, and unable to give up her luxurious life, her mother Vildan pushes Nihan to marry Emir Kozcuoǧlu, who's infatuated with her. But Nihan is appalled at the idea as she despises Emir, perceiving him as ruthless and arrogant.
In his last year in mining engineering, Kemal meets Nihan when he helps her buy a bus ticket. The pair fall hopelessly in love at first sight and Nihan completely changes Kemal's monotonous life. Despite the class difference between them, they manage to be together. That is, until Emir stages an accident that results in Ozan killing a girl. To prevent Ozan from going to jail, Nihan agrees to marry Emir. The next day, she goes to meet Kemal at the port where he proposes to her; in tears, Nihan sadly turns down his marriage proposal and ends their relationship. Heartbroken, Kemal leaves Istanbul and goes to Zonguldak to work in the mines. He isolates himself in his work and one day, following his actions to help in an accident at the mine, Kemal is promoted and assumes a position of power in the company. Five years later, Kemal decides to return to Istanbul to face his past. Kemal and Nihan see each other again, face to face while Nihan was with her husband because they were having a party for Emir's company but sadly Nihan didn't know that Kemal was going to start working where her husband was working at. As soon as Kemal entered Emir's house Nihan then came out of a room and looked around then saw Kemal's face. She tears up not knowing what to do but gets herself together and goes to "meet him for the first time".
| Main / Supporting | ||
|---|---|---|
| Actor | Role | Notes |
| Neslihan Atagül | Nihan Sezin | Leading – Protagonist |
| Burak Özçivit | Kemal Soydere | |
| Kaan Urgancıoğlu | Emir Kozcuoğlu | Leading – Antagonist |
| Melisa Aslı Pamuk | Asu Alacahan Kozcuoğlu | Emir's sister, Female Antagonist |
| Zeynep Soydere | Kemal's sister, Co-Antagonist | |
| Zerrin Tekindor | Leyla Acemzade | Supporting |
| Orhan Güner | Hüseyin Soydere | |
| Zeyno Eracar | Fehime Soydere | |
| Neşe Baykent | Vildan Acemzade | |
| Barış Alpaykut | Ozan Sezin | |
| Rüzgar Aksoy | Tarık Soydere | |
| Ali Burak Ceylan | Tufan Kaner | |
| Galip Kozcuoğlu | Supporting Antagonist | |
| Ayhan Kandarli | Supporting | |
| Uğur Arslan | Zehir (Fikret) | |
| Erhan Alpay | Hakan | |
| Arven Beren | Deniz Soydere | |
| Recurring | ||
| Actor | Role | Notes |
| Çağla Demir | Banu Akmeriç | Season 1 & 2 |
| Gökay Müftüoglü | Salih | Season 1 |
| Kürşat Alnıaçık | Önder Sezin | |
| Metin Coşkun | Hakkı Alacahan | Season 1 & 2 |
| Ece Mudessiroğlu | Zehra Tozkan | Season 2 |
| Gizem Karaca Ekmekçi | Mercan Komser | |
Kara Sevda has been shot entirely in the city of Istanbul, Turkey, with the exception of the mine explosion scene from the first episode, which was shot in Zonguldak. Some of the places where the series was filmed are:
| Year | Organization | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Bilkent Television Awards | Best Drama Actor | Burak Özçivit | ||
| Ayaklı Newspaper Awards | Best Actor | ||||
| Best Actress | Neslihan Atagül Doğulu | ||||
| Best Supporting Actor | Kaan Urgancıoğlu | ||||
| Best Supporting Actress | Zerrin Tekindor | ||||
| 2016 | International Conference on Occupational Health and Safety | Special Award | Kara Sevda | ||
| Golden Object Awards | Best Actress | ||||
| Best Supporting Actress | Hazal Filiz KucukKose | ||||
| KKTC Magazine Gazeteciler | [17] | ||||
| Magazinci.com Internet Media (Best) | TV Performance of the Year | Burak Özçivit | [18] | ||
| Series of the Year | Kara Sevda | ||||
| Best Actress | Neslihan Atagül Doğulu | ||||
| Müzikonair Awards | |||||
| Ege University 5th Media Awards | |||||
| Best Actor | Burak Özçivit | ||||
| 6º Ayaklı Gazete TV Stars Awards | Best Drama Actress | Neslihan Atagül | |||
| KTÜ Media Awards | Top Rated Actress | ||||
| 43rd Pantene Golden Butterfly Awards | Best Actress | [19] | |||
| Best Actor | Burak Özçivit | ||||
| Best Director | Hilal Saral | ||||
| Best Series | Kara Sevda | ||||
| Best Couple | Burak Özçivit & Neslihan Atagül Doğulu | ||||
| Best Young Actress | Melisa Asli Pamuk | ||||
| Seoul International Drama Awards | Best Actress | Neslihan Atagül Doğulu | |||
| Jury Special Prize | Endless Love | ||||
| 2017 | Bilkent TV Awards | Best Actress | Neslihan Atagül Doğulu | ||
| Turkish Children's Awards | |||||
| Magazinci.com Internet Media Magazine Oscars Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Zerrin Tekindor | |||
| 45º International Emmy Awards | Best Telenovela | Endless Love | [20] | ||
| Ayaklı Newspaper Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Melisa Asli Pamuk | [21] | ||
| 44th Pantene Golden Butterfly Awards | Best Soundtracks | Toygar isikli | |||
| Best Actor | Burak Özçivit | ||||
| Best Young Actress | Hazal Filiz KucukKose | ||||
| 2021 | Soap Awards France 2021 | Best International Soap Opera | Endless Love | [22] | |
| Best International Actor | Burak Özçivit | [23] | |||
| Best International Actress | Neslihan Atagül Doğulu | [24] |