The distributor is participating at the LA Screenings with two fresh titles from Turkey: Once Upon a Time in Cyprus and The Shadow Team.

A new month has started and Mistco is ready for it with brand new titles. After having started the year in great form due to the quality of dramas such as The Innocents and The Great Seljuks Guardians of Justice, titles that, alongside its powerful library, have allowed the distributor to achieve spectacular results in the international market.

As if that were not enough, the excellent season of TRT, whose titles Mistco represents in exclusivity, has not been limited to only those contents, but has continued with new additions such as Once Upon a Time in Cyprus and The Shadow Team, both audience ratings leaders in Turkey in their time slots.

To learn more about the powerful offer that Mistco has for this year, ttvnews spoke with Aysegul Tuzun, managing director of the Turkish distributor.

How has the season been for the TRT titles you represent?

TRT has released five new dramas this season and we represent them all as their exclusive distributor. All the titles have had an excellent result in the local ratings, which makes our work easier in the international market. The Innocents and The Great Seljuks Guardians of Justice have expanded widely, as have the titles in our library. We look forward to announcing new deals soon.

What’s new for LA Screenings 2021?

We have two additions to our catalog for LA Screenings 2021: one of them is ‘Once Upon a Time in Cyprus and the other is The Shadow Team. Once Upon a Time has a very dramatic story, a story of lost lives, intersecting loves and the challenges of life in Cyprus in the 1960s. The story is produced by TMC Film and broadcasted by TRT1, on Thursday evenings, with great success.

The Shadow Team, meanwhile, is a series produced by TIMS & B Productions. It is broadcasted on Saturday evenings, and is the most viewed content on its time slot. The series follows seven patriots who sacrifice their lives to save their country. They agree to live as shadows in the crowd for a special mission.

Both series have just been launched and we have a limited number of episodes available, but we see that there is great potential for both in the international market.

Is it correct to say that The Shadow Team differs a bit from traditional Turkish drama? Do you see it being successful in another type of windows?

It is a series that has more action, we can say that it is an action crime drama. There are several countries that demand this type of content. Streaming platforms are important, just as much as broadcast or linear TV, and we believe that there is great potential for this genre in all those windows.

What can you tell us about the deals closed for other great titles of the season, such as The Innocents?

We have great news to share and one is that The Innocents will be broadcasted on TVN Chile, which will be the first Latin American signal to put the drama on its screen. The Innocents was the most watched drama of the season in Turkey. From the beginning we had great expectations for the series and we were sure that the local success would be repeated in the international market. We have other agreements for Latin America, but Chile will be the first country to broadcast the series.

What can you tell us about the agreement closed in MENA?

With The Innocents we enter another important region, MENA, which has been key to Turkish content for several years. We have a collaboration with Starz Play to launch The Innocents in the region. We believe that it is the ideal partner and that The Innocents will be a success. Our company has been very active in MENA this season and The Great Seljuks Guardians of Justice is available on one of the leading networks in the region, Bein Media Group. The series began airing during Ramadan. We also reached agreements in the region for other important library titles such as Resurrection: Ertugrul and Filinta. Both are available together with The Innocents on Starz Play.

How has Africa evolved as a destination for your titles?

We have to explore more countries; our goal is to reach all continents. Some of our titles are available in Africa, particularly in South Africa, such as Resurrection: Ertugrul and The Circle. Perhaps, in terms of revenue, Africa is not that relevant, but it is worth expanding our penetration on the continent.