Forbidden Love (Aşk-ı Memnu) (translated)

Aşk-ı Memnu is a Turkish television drama that Ay Yapım put together for Kanal D, reaching viewers across two seasons in the late 2000s. The story carries forward a novel that author Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil finished at the close of the nineteenth century. Its closing episode is remembered as one of the most-watched broadcasts in the country's television history.

The plot centers on a young woman who, after losing her father, marries a much older, wealthy man and moves into his Bosphorus-side mansion. That marriage is shaken once a hidden bond forms between her and her husband's nephew, and the fallout eventually touches everyone under that roof. Beren Saat and Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ lead the pair, joined by a supporting lineup that includes Nebahat Çehre, Zerrin Tekindor, Hazal Kaya, Nur Fettahoğlu, and Batuhan Karacakaya.

Ece Yörenç and Melek Gençoğlu co-wrote the scripts, while Hilal Saral sat in the director's chair. The show traveled well beyond Turkey, inspiring local-language remakes abroad, airing dubbed in dozens of countries, and building a particularly large following in Pakistan.