Why Turkish drama ‘Room for Love’ aired first in the Arab world, local fans are disappointed
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Khalid Al Mansoor
- . July 23, 2025
- . Update: July 23, 2025 11:31 pm
The Turkish series, Room for Love, has caused quite the commotion in Türkiye after the final two episodes were released on the Saudi streaming platform Shahid while the show has still not aired locally.Room for Love, which was penned by originally began airing on the NOW TV platform. The series was put on pause after episode six, as the show did not generate enough revenue for ad placements. The last two aired episodes are keenly followed by viewers but have not aired for more than three weeks. Meanwhile, Shahid acquired the streaming rights and released the series to large Arab audiences with Arabic dubbing. This outraged Turkish viewers who felt very strongly that they shouldn’t get to watch their own show without having first viewed the program in the Turkish language.
The comments flew on social media, far and wide. One viewer vented their frustration: “This must be a joke, a Turkish series appears overseas before we have a chance to watch it here?” Another added,”We are now watching our program in Arabic with Turkish subtitles, what a disgrace.”
Set in the iconic Lutesya Hotel, Room for Love stars Nilufer, played by Devrim Ozkan, as she pursues her dream to work at the hotel built by her father. While working there, she meets Kaan, the estranged son of the owner, leading to a complicated intertwining of love, ambition, and family secrets.
Though it has received a lot of success globally, the fact that it was released for international audiences first has only further alienated Turkish audiences, creating the latest struggle between local fans and international streaming.
