When Deep in Love premiered on October 10th, 2025, it arrived on Turkish television with the kind of momentum that suggested something special was about to unfold. What followed was nothing short of remarkable—a drama that didn’t just capture audiences but held them captive for 21 consecutive episodes, building toward something that felt genuinely consequential in the landscape of contemporary television. The show’s 7.7/10 rating doesn’t tell the whole story, because the real narrative lies in what happened week after week: a series that dominated its time slot for eight consecutive weeks, climbing higher with every installment.
The Scale of Ambition
Let’s talk about the creative vision first, because you can feel Nehir Erdem and Ayse Ferda Eryilmaz’s fingerprints all over this. These creators understood something fundamental about how to structure a family drama—they recognized that 140-minute episodes weren’t bloat, but rather a canvas. In an era where prestige television often means efficiency, Deep in Love took the opposite approach. That extended runtime became its signature, allowing narratives to breathe, relationships to develop with genuine complexity, and emotional beats to land with the weight they deserved. This wasn’t padding; this was intentionality.
The show’s architecture as a drama-family-soap hybrid proved to be its greatest strength. By blending these genres, the creators crafted something that could satisfy multiple audiences simultaneously—those craving intimate family dynamics, those seeking soap opera intensity, and those wanting substantive dramatic storytelling. That tonal balance is harder to achieve than it sounds, yet Deep in Love managed it with remarkable consistency across its 21-episode run.
What Connected with Audiences
The numbers tell their own compelling story. Episodes began accumulating views at an almost unprecedented rate—the premiere reached 28 million views, with the first three episodes each exceeding 20 million. Episode 8 broke records for ratings performance, and by that point, the show had claimed the #1 spot on Turkish television, a position it refused to relinquish. This wasn’t casual viewership. This was the kind of engagement that suggests Deep in Love became appointment television, the kind of show that structured people’s weeks.
The show held its dominance not through novelty alone, but through narrative momentum that deepened with each episode—a rare achievement in the soap and drama space.
What made audiences return? There’s something about the way the series approached family dynamics that felt both timeless and urgently contemporary. The 140-minute format meant that creators could develop generational conflict, romantic tension, and character evolution without resorting to melodrama’s worst impulses. Instead, Deep in Love earned its emotional moments through genuine storytelling architecture.
Cultural Resonance and Longevity
The decision to return for additional seasons speaks volumes about both its critical reception and audience demand. In a television landscape crowded with competing narratives, Deep in Love distinguished itself through consistent quality and narrative momentum. The jump from its premiere to becoming a ratings juggernaut wasn’t accidental—it reflected genuine word-of-mouth momentum and the kind of social conversation that transforms a show from program into phenomenon.
Consider the metrics:
- Episode 1: 28 million views—an exceptional launch
- Episode 7: 8.4 million additional views, indicating sustained engagement
- Episode 8: Breaking ratings records with a 14.77 total score
- AB demographic performance: 13.68 AB score—the highest of the entire 2025 season
- Consecutive weeks at #1: Eight weeks of unbroken dominance
These aren’t marginal successes. These are the kind of numbers that reshape how networks think about scheduling and resource allocation.
The Storytelling Craft
What distinguishes Deep in Love from other soap-adjacent dramas is its willingness to trust viewers with complexity. The 21-episode structure allowed for long-form storytelling without the filler that often plagues extended runs. Each episode carried narrative weight, each commercial break left you wanting resolution, and each week’s return brought genuine surprises alongside earned emotional payoffs.
The family drama framework proved particularly potent because it allowed the show to explore:
- Generational conflict with genuine stakes
- Romantic tension grounded in authentic character development
- The collision between tradition and contemporary values
- The messy reality of how family members truly communicate
Why This Show Endures
As we look back on Deep in Love‘s inaugural run, its significance becomes clearer. In a marketplace saturated with streaming originals and prestige dramas, this TRT 1 series proved that traditional television drama, when executed with vision and ambition, could still capture the cultural moment. The show’s return for additional seasons represents validation—not just of its premise, but of its creators’ instinct that there remained an audience hungry for emotionally intelligent, character-driven storytelling delivered in an expansive format.
The 7.7/10 rating, viewed through this lens, tells a different story: it’s not a score indicating middling quality, but rather a reflection of broad appeal that crosses demographic lines. This is a show that worked for mainstream audiences while maintaining enough narrative sophistication to satisfy more critical viewers.
Deep in Love matters because it reminded television that ambition, when paired with genuine craft and character development, still resonates. It’s the kind of show that made people talk, that structures weeks, and that proves audiences will show up when the storytelling is worth their time.
