“STORIES MUST HAVE A UNIVERSAL CODE”

During the 2022 edition of Mipcom, Inter Medya celebrated its 30th anniversary and presented the most recent Turkish drama to join its catalogue, ‘Deception’, a new production from TIMS&B Productions. Following the success of their partnership on other titles, particularly ‘Bitter Lands’, Inter Medya took the opportunity to introduce ‘Deception’ to international buyers with a special event attended by Timur Savcı and Burak Sağyaşar, co-founders of TIMS&B Productions. .

The drama made its way to several international tradeshows, first at MipCancun 2022, and more recently at the first edition of Content Americas 2023, an event that took place between January 24 and 26, in Miami, organized by C21 Media.

In dialogue with ttv, the successful producers talked about the methodology behind a production company that has found success after success with its content, both in the local and international markets.

What would you say is at the heart of the success that TIMS&B Productions has found? Timur Savcı (TS): This may sound cliché, but of course there is a lot of hard work behind our success with TIMS&B. But I don’t want to reduce it to just hard work. The real achievement is maintaining success after having achieved it with a television series. I think we have a significant success rate with sustainability. I care a lot about this.

Burak Sağyaşar (BS): We have always embraced the principle of focusing on the right content and making it sustainable, as Timur said, and we continue on that path with determination.

What elements should a Turkish TV show have to attract local and international audiences? TS: You must have a universal code. Therefore, your story should not be only local. You need to have a story where you convey feelings that the audience can fully relate to. That is first. Apart from that, the work we do with Turkish TV series has geographical advantages, because we shoot in a country like Turkey where you can find everything. We have a wide range of possibilities in terms of production conditions and visual diversity.

Also, I think that due to Turkey’s location, we cannot be called either a totally Eastern country or a totally Western country. We have many things embedded in our culture from both the East and the West. I think this is one of the most important reasons why our stories are so universal.

BS: Of course, it is always very important to appeal to common sentiments to capture the international audience, with themes like love and family drama. And the success of Turkish TV series in these matters is truly undeniable.

How would you describe your partnership with Inter Medya and the success both companies have had around the world with titles like ‘Bitter Lands’? TS: I think we are a great team. And I think we’re all doing our part perfectly.

Family, trust and betrayal are at the center of ‘Deception’. What are the strong elements of this story and what particularly interests you about it? BS: Yes, those are the strong elements of the story, but this is not just a TV show about deception. It is actually the journey and story of a strong woman. And on this path, she is not only cheated on by her husband. In fact, she is deceived by her friends and her children. So, we can call it a great family drama. We also have a great cast.

TS: A strong woman who thinks that she has done everything right in her life realizes that everything she has lived up to now has been a lie. And sometimes, as hard as she tries to make things right, it’s going to be a disaster no matter what she does. I think we’re telling a story that could happen to anyone in a very powerful way. I think the power and the main theme of the story is ‘Deception’, like its name. But don’t think of this as cheating only in terms of sexual or romantic relationships. Deception is everywhere. That’s why I think it’s a story in which everyone can find something from their own life.

TIMUR SAVCI, CO-FOUNDERS OF TIMS&B PRODUCTIONS

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The series had a powerful debut. What is the value of having a great start in the local market and then traveling and conquering international audiences? TS: First of all, we are very happy that the ratings were good from the first episode. This is of course gratifying for us. It’s also nice because it’s a good indicator of the potential success of the series in the international arena, because the series that get high ratings in Turkey generally achieve the same results internationally. So I think it will be a long-lasting and promising title for us.

BURAK SAĞYAŞAR, CO-FOUNDERS OF TIMS&B PRODUCTIONS

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