Those Who Cannot Hold On (Series)

Tutunamayanlar is a Turkish television series in the absurdist comedy genre, with its first episode broadcast on TRT 1 on January 7, 2020. The series follows the story of Tarık, who has never worked in his life, as he falls in love with İrem, who loses everything due to her father’s bankruptcy. The series concluded with its 19th episode on June 2, 2020.

The series begins when Tarık, who has never worked and has no intention of doing so, falls in love with İrem during a job interview. İrem, having lost everything after her family’s wealth collapsed, has nowhere to go and accepts Tarık’s invitation to move into his neighborhood. There, she starts working at a book café. İrem’s dream is to succeed, establish her own business, and one day return to her former life. Seeing that the way to impress İrem is by starting a business, Tarık one day encounters the rigid and visionless İlhan, known as the “Fairy of Inspiration.” Inspired by İlhan’s ideas, they embark on a series of wildly entertaining but inevitably failed business ventures.

• Doğu Demirkol – Tarık
• Ece Çeşmioğlu – İrem
• Zafer Algöz – İlhan (İlham Perisi)
• Yeliz Kuvancı – Ayşe (Tarık’s sister)
• Şinasi Yurtsever – Hicabi
• Barış Yıldız – Poet Lütfü
• Hande Katipoğlu – Belgin
• Bora Akkaş – Yağız
• Dilhan Naz Özgülüş – Eylem
• Uğur Serhan – Hikmet
• Dilek Çelebi – Nurdagül
• Asuman Dabak – Cemile (Tarık’s mother)
• Arda Kural – The Little Prince
• Bahtiyar Engin – İmtiyaz
• Bülent Çolak – Poet Edgar Allen Poe

^{Tutunamayanlar Series Cast Images (}Anadolu Agency⁾

The series was originally broadcast in the traditional format for 13 episodes. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, beginning with the 14th episode, it switched to an “Online” format and aired six additional episodes. The series, consisting of a total of 19 episodes, concluded on June 2, 2020.

Tutunamayanlar explores themes such as unemployment, youth aspirations, societal expectations, and personal failures within the framework of absurdist comedy. The series narrates the stories of individuals who “cannot hold on” in modern society with a humorous tone.

The TRT 1 production Tutunamayanlar is structured around the theme of an individual’s dissonance with society, ideals, and their inner world. Through its narrative, which incorporates literary references and elements of absurdity, the series centers on characters’ quests to find their place in life. Characters who fail to conform to societal expectations are portrayed as those who either exist outside the system or choose to remain on its margins. Tarık’s attempts to shape his life gradually evolve into an existential inquiry. The concept of “not being able to hold on” signifies both material and spiritual disconnection in this context. The production addresses structural problems in bureaucracy, work life, emotional relationships, and social interactions through absurdist storytelling techniques. Communication difficulties between Tarık and İrem highlight the gap between expectations and reality in interpersonal relationships. Literary allusions to Turkish and world literature further enrich the narrative’s layered structure.