# Elif (TV series)
**Elif** is a Turkish daily television drama that aired on Kanal 7 from 15 September 2014 to 10 June 2019, running 940 episodes across five seasons and becoming one of the most widely exported Turkish series of its decade.[1](https://www.turkishdrama.com/elif-tv-series.html) • [2](https://diziplanet.com/tr/title/elif/) It was the first daily series broadcast by Kanal 7 and remains the channel's longest-running production by both episode and season count.[2](https://diziplanet.com/tr/title/elif/) The distributor Eccho Rights reports sales in more than 40 countries, with the title reaching audiences in Latin America, the Balkans, South Asia, and Africa.[3](https://ecchorights.com/series/elif)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Turkish daily drama (drama, romance), broadcast weekdays at 20:00 on Kanal 7[1](https://www.turkishdrama.com/elif-tv-series.html) • [4](https://www.sinemalar.com/dizi/251506/elif) |
| Run | 15 September 2014 to 10 June 2019; 940 episodes in five seasons[1](https://www.turkishdrama.com/elif-tv-series.html) • [2](https://diziplanet.com/tr/title/elif/) |
| Season lengths | Season 1: 183 episodes; Season 2: 230; Season 3: 256; Season 4: 250; Season 5: 241, each 45 minutes[3](https://ecchorights.com/series/elif) |
| Production | Green Yapım per Turkish sources; distributor Eccho Rights lists Hayat Görsel Yayincilik A.S[5](https://turkipedia.com/Elif_%28dizi%29) • [3](https://ecchorights.com/series/elif) |
| Lead cast | Isabella Damla Güvenilir as Elif, Selin Sezgin as Melek, Cemre Melis Çınar as Arzu[3](https://ecchorights.com/series/elif) • [4](https://www.sinemalar.com/dizi/251506/elif) |
| International reach | Sold in over 40 countries; available as format and readymade[3](https://ecchorights.com/series/elif) |
| Domestic ratings | Average rating 2.21%; peak 3.36% on 15 January 2018; average audience 1.84 million viewers[6](https://www.dizisi.info.tr/elif/reytingleri/) |
| Distinction | First daily series to attend the Cannes Festival, according to Turkish records[5](https://turkipedia.com/Elif_%28dizi%29) |
## Premise
The story centers on a young girl and the secret of her birth. Melek, a servant in the wealthy Emiroğlu household, fell in love with Kenan, the family's favorite son. Kenan's mother disapproved of the relationship and drove the pregnant Melek away; Melek left, letting Kenan believe she had abandoned him, and gave birth to Elif while Kenan married another woman, Arzu.[3](https://ecchorights.com/series/elif) • [1](https://www.turkishdrama.com/elif-tv-series.html)
Years later Melek lives with the violent gambler Veysel, who plans to sell five-year-old Elif to settle his gambling debts. To save her daughter, Melek secretly leaves Elif at the Emiroğlu farm with a trusted friend among the household staff. The family takes the girl in, but no one knows her true identity, and her reappearance sets the plot in motion.[3](https://ecchorights.com/series/elif) • [1](https://www.turkishdrama.com/elif-tv-series.html) Later seasons move the story to the Haktanır mansion: in season five, Melek and Elif live happily until the arrival of Kiymet Keskin, who seeks revenge on the family, and the season builds toward the exposure of Kiymet's secrets and a resolution in which Mahir, Melek, and Elif find happiness together.[7](https://www.atv.pe/noticia/hoy-no-te-pierdas-el-primer-capitulo-de-la-quinta-temorada-de-elif-por-atv/)
## Production and broadcast
**Credits.** Turkish databases credit the production to Green Yapım with Özkan İpek as producer.[5](https://turkipedia.com/Elif_%28dizi%29) • [8](https://www.senaristbir.org.tr/movie/elif-220) Eccho Rights, the series' international distributor, instead lists the production company as Hayat Görsel Yayincilik A.S and İnci Gülen as producer; Kanal 7's own episode credits name Nuri Öz as executive producer.[3](https://ecchorights.com/series/elif) • [9](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve_ISARSOi0) The scriptwriter of record is Ruya Istanbul, a writing collective; the screenwriters' guild registry lists Talin Mecelyan, Tanya Mecelyan, and Emel Çokçalışkan as story and dialogue writers across all 940 episodes, with Burak Acar credited on episodes 1 through 560.[3](https://ecchorights.com/series/elif) • [8](https://www.senaristbir.org.tr/movie/elif-220) Directing credits vary by source and season: Eccho Rights lists Betül Durmus and Mahmut Kaptan, while Kanal 7's episode credits name Betül Sevim and Çağıl Aydoğdu.[3](https://ecchorights.com/series/elif) • [9](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve_ISARSOi0) Murat Evgin composed the music.[9](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve_ISARSOi0)
The series was filmed in Istanbul.[1](https://www.turkishdrama.com/elif-tv-series.html) Episodes ran about 45 minutes in international distribution; the Mexican listing on [JustWatch](https://www.edgepedia.org/justwatch) records 44-minute runtimes and five seasons totaling 1,137 episodes in its own count.[3](https://ecchorights.com/series/elif) • [10](https://www.justwatch.com/mx/serie/elif-dizisi)
**Channel records.** Elif was Kanal 7's first daily Turkish series.[2](https://diziplanet.com/tr/title/elif/) • [11](https://www.dizisi.info.tr/elif/) Over five seasons it became the channel's longest-running production by episode and season count, although other Kanal 7 series have since reached 500 episodes, including [Yemin](https://www.edgepedia.org/yemin) and Emanet.[2](https://diziplanet.com/tr/title/elif/) • [11](https://www.dizisi.info.tr/elif/) • [21](https://www.kanal7.com/ozel-haber/emanet-dizisi-500-bolum-izle-3-sezon-84-bolum)
## International distribution
Eccho Rights describes Elif as a global sensation sold in over 40 countries, available both as a finished program and as a remake format.[3](https://ecchorights.com/series/elif) Documented broadcasts include Chile's TVN from 28 June 2017, Indonesia's RCTI in 2018 and 2019, and Peru's ATV, which aired the fifth season on weekday afternoons.[5](https://turkipedia.com/Elif_%28dizi%29) • [7](https://www.atv.pe/noticia/hoy-no-te-pierdas-el-primer-capitulo-de-la-quinta-temorada-de-elif-por-atv/) Urdu-dubbed episodes circulate through a dedicated YouTube channel with hundreds of thousands of followers, and the series maintains official Turkish, Spanish, and Arabic Facebook pages.[12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JhOYH1NKVc) In Mexico the series streams on Amazon Prime Video.[10](https://www.justwatch.com/mx/serie/elif-dizisi) In October 2026, Eccho Rights closed a deal with Red Head Global covering South Africa and Namibia that included Elif among four of its most widely traveled Turkish titles.[3](https://ecchorights.com/series/elif)
Turkipedia records that Elif was the first daily series to attend the Cannes Festival.[5](https://turkipedia.com/Elif_%28dizi%29) In Latin America the series' reach extended beyond viewing: the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce gazette reports that Elif was among the most-watched series in the region in recent years and that the use of the name Elif for newborn girls increased afterward.[13](https://istanbulticaretgazetesi.com/front/uploads/pdfs/1702501200iZaDceF8Y8dt783A1wE6.pdf)
## Viewership and ratings
Turkish rating data compiled by dizisi.info.tr show a series with a modest but stable domestic audience: an average rating of 2.21% and an average audience of 1.84 million viewers across the run. The peak rating was 3.36% on 15 January 2018, with a maximum audience of 2.76 million; the minimum rating was 0.54% on 18 September 2014, shortly after launch. The final recorded episode drew 1.75% and 1.46 million viewers on 7 June 2019, and the series' best channel ranking was 12th.[6](https://www.dizisi.info.tr/elif/reytingleri/)
User scores differ sharply by platform. IMDb records a weighted rating of 2.3 out of 10 from 784 ratings, with an unweighted mean of 4.2 and ratings concentrated in Turkey, the United States, Greece, South Africa, and Hungary.[14](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4745726/ratings/) The Polish database Filmweb shows 4.5 out of 10 from about 1,200 ratings,[15](https://www.filmweb.pl/serial/Elif-2014-769097) and the Turkish portal dizisi.info.tr shows 6.2 out of 10 from 119 votes.[11](https://www.dizisi.info.tr/elif/) Turkish viewers on SinemaTürk criticized the finale as unresolved, noting that the villains were never punished when the series ended after five years.[16](https://www.sinematurk.com/film/63288-elif)
## Place in Turkish drama exports
Elif belongs to the daily melodrama format that anchors Turkish television's international business, an industry now worth more than $1 billion in exports and reaching audiences across the Middle East, Latin America, Europe, and Asia.[17](https://www.aa.com.tr/en/culture/after-conquering-screens-across-the-globe-turkish-dramas-eye-china/4046371) Turkish series are broadcast in more than 150 countries, and scholars link their appeal to family-centered melodrama, cultural proximity, and family-friendly content.[18](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311983.2026.2680621)
Within this landscape Elif occupies a specific niche. A study of Colombian viewers found that 311 of those interviewed had watched Turkish series and that the productions enjoyed a strong quality reputation, but it also records that one scholar cited in the study judged Elif an exception, less neatly produced than other exported titles.[19](https://katalog.marmara.edu.tr/veriler/yordambt/cokluortam/2C/5f76cd7e03854.pdf) Its commercial performance nonetheless made it a reference point for the daily format abroad.
A separate Turkish series of the same name, a 19-episode romance starring Keremcem and Yasemin Kay Allen, aired in 2008 and was produced by Play Prodüksiyon; it is unrelated to the 2014 production.[20](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1286231/)
## References
1. [Elif Tv Series, Turkish Drama](https://www.turkishdrama.com/elif-tv-series.html)
2. [Elif, Oyuncular, DiziPlanet](https://diziplanet.com/tr/title/elif/)
3. [Elif, Eccho Rights](https://ecchorights.com/series/elif)
4. [Elif (2014), Sinemalar.com](https://www.sinemalar.com/dizi/251506/elif)
5. [Elif (dizi), Turkipedia](https://turkipedia.com/Elif_%28dizi%29)
6. [Elif Reytingleri, Reyting Sonuçları, dizisi.info.tr](https://www.dizisi.info.tr/elif/reytingleri/)
7. [¡De lunes a viernes! Disfruta de la quinta temporada de 'Elif' por ATV, ATV Perú](https://www.atv.pe/noticia/hoy-no-te-pierdas-el-primer-capitulo-de-la-quinta-temorada-de-elif-por-atv/)
8. [Elif, Senaristbir](https://www.senaristbir.org.tr/movie/elif-220)
9. [Kanal 7 Dizileri, Elif bölüm videoları ve künyesi, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve_ISARSOi0)
10. [Elif (2014), JustWatch México](https://www.justwatch.com/mx/serie/elif-dizisi)
11. [Elif Dizisi, dizisi.info.tr](https://www.dizisi.info.tr/elif/)
12. [Elif series with Urdu dubbing, Elif Urdu YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JhOYH1NKVc)
13. [İstanbul Ticaret Gazetesi, dizi ihracatı eki (7 Ağustos 2020)](https://istanbulticaretgazetesi.com/front/uploads/pdfs/1702501200iZaDceF8Y8dt783A1wE6.pdf)
14. [Elif (TV Series 2014–2019), Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4745726/ratings/)
15. [Elif (Serial TV 2014-2019), Filmweb](https://www.filmweb.pl/serial/Elif-2014-769097)
16. [Elif, SinemaTürk](https://www.sinematurk.com/film/63288-elif)
17. [After conquering screens across the globe, Turkish dramas eye China, Anadolu Agency](https://www.aa.com.tr/en/culture/after-conquering-screens-across-the-globe-turkish-dramas-eye-china/4046371)
18. [Exploring the cultural influence of Turkish TV dramas: a mixed-methods study among Tunisian viewers, Cogent Social Sciences](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311983.2026.2680621)
19. [Reception study of Turkish dizis among Colombian viewers, Marmara University repository](https://katalog.marmara.edu.tr/veriler/yordambt/cokluortam/2C/5f76cd7e03854.pdf)
20. [Elif (TV Series 2008), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1286231/)
21. [Emanet Dizisi 500. Bölüm İzle (3. Sezon 84. Bölüm) - Kanal7](https://www.kanal7.com/ozel-haber/emanet-dizisi-500-bolum-izle-3-sezon-84-bolum)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › Turkish, Middle Eastern, and African serials › Contemporary Turkish serial dramas (dizi)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license