As If

Perfect, You should definitely watch, that is very absurd

Kardesim bu dizi sizin yilgin bir hosgoruyle onu benimsemenize mi kaldi?

Incredibly good social observation and dialogue writing. As Aziz Kedi(writer) says ''unlikely but possible'' situations creates content with original characters. Feyyaz Yigit (writer and lead actor) can make anything funny, love everything he does.

Hello. As a man who was born in and have been in the metropols in Turkey for 22 years, I can now see why some non-native people'd not like this series.

The episodes mostly bear a soul of purified classical state of being of a Turkish person, reflected over unorthodox events which are not so oleaginous considering the life in the metropols in Turkey. It is not solely the scenario, it is the cumulative constructs of the feelings embedded inside the individuals and the whole scenes that matter. The construct here that builds up from a sub-ordinary event and develops into a crazy situation is not already part of the current metropol life of Turkey; but also in the classics of Turkish literature, spanning from the Republic era novels back to the Ottoman and pre-Ottoman tales and myths -of which the weakened Turkish education system still manages to give a taste to the pupils.

So; with the clear and rich language, the smooth switch and set-up of the scenes, the accurate typing, this series can be considered as a masterpiece. This series does not only entertain its viewers, but also help correct and richen the degenerating language of them. However; I can see that if you are non-native, you may not spot those values easily. I get it.

A very good example of absurd comedy... If Turkish is NOT your native language, you should get %10 of the taste.. sorry for that... Aziz Kedi and Feyyaz Yigit rocks...

Writing a review on a dominantly English-speaking website about a Turkish show would seem like complete loss of time, but I will write a couple of sentences to potentially draw some interest from the non-Turkish watchers to this show.

Gibi (as if) is a sit-com, largely exploring themes that have very low probability to happen but also not impossible, which involves two (then three) close friends. Lead, Yilmaz, would potentially win all angry people's hearts with his usually accurate but constant realism and cynicism. Usually episodes open up in a singular theme, moves characters around that and their own take on it and very likely heading towards a rollercoaster of events (and sometimes emotions) with a grand result. Episodes are largely unlinked with each other so there is no need to watch in sequence.

There is certainly a Turkish cultural filter requirement, but some of the themes are also universal. I'd say, in the first season #3 and #4, #6, #7 and #8 are largely exploring areas that can resonate almost globally. Without spoilers, think about how would the entire family would react, if grandpa decides to become a nude model for a local art school?

Second season is even bolder to some extent, looking into comedic but also cautionary tales about bdsm, cosplaying for simping, attending the wedding of childhood sweethearts and the fall of Rome.

I think the international success of the show, if it ever happens, will largely depend on availability in an international streaming service with significantly improved English substitles. But a short term experimentation could happen with releasing a couple of episodes online free (again with much better Eng subs) for broader audiences.

I think, at heart, this show is for observing the characters (and sometimes yourself) in a largely unlikely but possible events with usually comedic outcomes. Others have also said, if you like Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasim, this is for you, in a different language and sometimes culture, but largely in a similar context and flavour.