While Turkish TV series have swept audiences throughout the Middle East, Balkans and North Africa along with Europe by breaking rating records in the regions, especially in North Macedonia, they also have anthropological and economic impacts. The series provide the academic world, especially the Radio, Television and Cinema Department, with a new topic for research and studies.

The dissertation of young Macedonian actor Nikola Nastoski, who is also a postgraduate student at Istanbul’s Marmara University, is an example of the Turkish series’ impact on the academic world. The thesis, titled "Socio-cultural impact of Turkish TV series on Macedonian society: ‘Muhteşem Yüzyıl’ (‘Magnificent Century’) and 'Paramparça' ('Broken Pieces')" focuses on the similarities of the Turkish and the Macedonian people along with the effects of Turkish TV series in Macedonia.

The Balkans, including Macedonia, is among the important markets to which Turkey exports its TV series. While "Sen Anlat Karadeniz" ("Lifeline"), "Kimse Bilmez" ("Nobody Knows"), "Ağlama Anne" ("Don’t Cry Mom") and "Hercai" ("A Fickle Heart") are among the popular Turkish series in the Balkans, "Muhteşem Yüzyıl," "Paramparça" and "Sıla" draw the attention of viewers in Macedonia.

Nastoski, who completed his Ph.D. in the radio, television and cinema department, said that he had conducted research for a few years to prepare his thesis. Noting that the Turkish series phenomenon has recently caught the attention of the academic world, he added that his topic has never been studied before.

Nastoski also explained that the second part of the thesis is comprised of interviews with Turkish series viewers. Stating that he discovered the sphere of influence of the Turkish series thanks to these interviews, he said: "The series affect cultures, language, tourism, economy and cuisines."

Interest in Turkish cuisine, Turkey thanks to series

Explaining that he proved his thesis on the socio-cultural impact of Turkish TV series on Macedonian society in various fields with his research, Nastoski continued: "To determine the effect of the TV series, I created a survey and shared it on social media. About 1,200 people participated in the survey."

The survey found that thanks to the series, Macedonian people have learned more about Turkish cuisine. According to the results, Macedonians now cook okra, börek (Turkish pastry), stuffed peppers, stuffed zucchini, sütlaç (a traditional Turkish dessert with milk and rice), musakka (an eggplant-based dish often including ground meat), sarma (stuffed grape leaves) and baklava after seeing the dishes in Turkish TV series.

In his dissertation, Nastoski also compared the statistical data on the visits of North Macedonian tourists to Turkey before and after the first Turkish TV series was broadcast in the country in 2009. Observing a four to fivefold increase in visits, he said: "After watching the Turkish series, they particularly want to visit Istanbul."

Nasotski also pointed out that he found in his study that the Turkish language has gradually seeped into their language in Macedonia. Implying that Turkish expressions are widely used by Macedonians thanks to the series, he said: "For example, ‘Iyi Günler’ (meaning have a nice day) is a very common expression in Turkey. Macedonians have started to use it more often as they hear it on TV series."