Review of Gülcemal

I actually really enjoyed this modern Turkish retelling of Beauty and The Beast. Murat Unalmis and Melis Sezen, as Gülcemal and Deva, had amazing chemistry and really made this hate to love series one to watch. The supporting cast was phenomenal and Avda Aksel as Zafer made a wonderful villain in this over-arching story of estranged mother and son. At times it was difficult to watch Zafer being so phenomenally evil...although it did make Gülcemal's wins that much greater. Shockingly, the series had lots of secrets and surprise twists that really kept you coming back for more. This was one 2023 series that I looked forward to every week and was disappointed when it was over. That leads me to the final episode, episode 13...for which I have mixed emotions. I really enjoyed the reunion, which was bittersweet knowing the series was over, but the bits with Zafer felt unbelievable. She was such an evil villain, I would have liked to see something a little more suiting to her big personality.

I was surprised that there was as much violence between the two main characters....stabbing, hitting, shooting, yelling. There are no holds barred in this hate to love.

As a romantic, I love the hate to love genre and I highly recommend this fairly short (13 episodes) Turkish series. Forced proximity and great banter are a signature of the series...but it really is all about Gülcemal and Deva. Romantics will be enthralled. I was inspired to buy the book My Sweet Orange Tree because of the references in this series, a book I had never heard of.

My review is based on watching the series in it's original Turkish language with English subtitles.