There’s few things as satisfying as settling into a gritty, complex BBC crime thriller and The Turkish Detective has all the hallmarks of a must-watch. 

This eight-part series has been adapted from Barbara Nadel’s award-winning and best-selling Inspector Ikmen novels and is set in modern-day Istanbul. 

The Turkish Detective will leave you dreaming of Istanbul city breaks in no time, albeit with slightly less crime than in the show – here’s everything you need to know about the thriller, streaming now on iPlayer. 

According to the BBC, The Turkish Detective follows Inspector Çetin Ikmen (played by Baba star Haluk Bilginer) and his two partners as they attempt to solve a variety of multi-faceted crimes. A synopsis reads: “Set in the multi-faceted city of Istanbul, The Turkish Detective follows the adventures of Inspector Çetin Ikmen (Bilginer), his partner Detective Mehmet Süleyman (Ethan Kai) and Detective Ayşe Farsakoğlu (Yasmine Kay Allen) going through ups and downs as they solve crimes, with each crime story being heavily rooted in the varied culture and history of Istanbul and set against the frenzied world of modern-day Turkey.”

The slick thriller stars Killing Eve’s Ethan Kai alongside Baba’s Haluk Bilginer, while British-Turkish actor Yasmine Kay Allen is best known for her role as Russian agent Katrina Zarkova in the British action series Strike Back. 

Good news: the show started streaming last night on BBC Two, with the second instalment this evening (8th July) at 9pm. The other episodes are scheduled for the next few Sundays and Mondays, and the whole series can be streamed via BBC iPlayer. 

Images courtesy of The BBC