Yalan Dünya is about the lives of actors and actresses in Cihangir, Istanbul, an up-and-coming neighbourhood with a lot of bohemians and nouveau riche families. Two actresses move in together with of one of the actresses' brother, who befriends one of the main actors on the show, Fırat'ın Yazgısı. They move in next door to a conservative family and frequently interact with them on the shared terrace of their apartment building. One of the main actresses falls in the love with the next-door family's single bachelor. Deniz, the main actress, and Riza fall in love. Riza's family is against there relationship; they have other plans for him with another woman. The woman they found is apparently perfect for him: her family is rich, she's a perfect housewife, and she's a germophobe.
Cast
Gülse Birsel - Deniz Alsancak - Star of "Fırat'ın Yazgısı".
Öner Erkan - Bora Alsancak - Deniz's brother and Emir's best friend from high school.
Sarp Apak - Emir - Actor in "Fırat'ın Yazgısı". Famous and handsome actor. Açılay's love interest.
Nihal Yalçın - Açılay - Actress of "Fırat'ın Yazgısı". Emir's love interest and an occasionally neurotic actress - housemates with Deniz and Deniz's brother, Bora
Gupse Özay - Nurhayat Karakaş - Fiancé of Rıza. She speaks very fast, hates Deniz and is materialistic/selfish.
Cihat Tamer - Yıldırım Karakaş - Nurhayat and Bünyamin's father.
Nurseli İdiz - Nursel Karakaş - Nurhayat and Bünyamin's mother.
Ömür Arpacı - Reis - Employee at the workplace of Selahattin Çakaler. The Black Sea.
Olgun Şimşek - Ahmet Çakaler - Actor of "Fırat'ın Yazgısı". Selahattin Çakaler's twin brother. / Selahattin Çakaler - Conservative neighbour, married to Gülistan, cheating on his wife with Tülay.
Tuna Orhan - Tufan - director, producer and writer of "Fırat'ın Yazgısı" frequently depicted as arrogant and over-the-top.
Hakan Meriçlilier - Çağatay Koçtuğ- Star of "Fırat'ın Yazgısı" and Tufan's best friend.
Bartu Küçükçağlayan - Orçun Çakaler- Gülistan and Selahattin's overgrown, loser son whose main goal in life is to be kissed by a girl
Altan Erkekli - Şehmuz Kocabaş- Patriarch of Kocabaş family.
Füsun Demirel - Servet Kocabaş - Mother of the Kocabaş family. She's an old-school housewife.
Rutkay Aziz - Timur Alsancak - He is a leftist and an intellectual man. Deniz and Bora's father.
Hümeyra - Çiğdem Alsancak - Deniz and Bora's mother.
Hasibe Eren - Gülistan Kocabaş-Çakaler- Daughter of Şehmuz and Servet. She's married to Selahattin who cheats on her with Tülay.
İrem Sak - Tülay- Pub Singer and Selahattin's mistress.
Gönül Ülkü Özcan- Afife - Deniz and Bora's often stingy grandmother
Production
The idea of Yalan Dünya was created when Birsel decided to purchase an office in Cihangir and met with "people, real estate agents, homeowners", after which she "immediately started writing" the scenario and created the series.
Promotion
Kanal D prepared a promotional advertisement in the form of a classifieds page within the framework of communication works for the series. In the advertisement, the characters that were to be played by all the actors in the series were introduced in a humorous language. It was also promoted on the real estate website hurriyetemlak.com with the description: "a 958 TL flat in Cihangir with a balcony, multi-purpose, furnished". On the night the series premiered on Kanal D, users used the hashtag #yalandunya on Twitter in their comments, the first time this method was used in Turkey.
Rating
The series was successful in bringing high ratings for Kanal D. As it later didn't succeed in gaining the expected ratings on Friday it was moved to Monday but this lowered the ratings more than before thus it was decided to change the broadcast day again and make modifications in the scenario. Some reported that the series would end after the 2nd season due to low ratings, but scenarist Gülse Birsel announced that it would continue for at least one more season. In May 2013, it was confirmed that the 3rd season would be made. Ministry of Culture gave a plaque of appreciation to the crew due to the publication of the series abroad and to commemorate the contributions of the cast and crew in promoting Turkey.
Commercials
The series had occasionally made visual advertisements for a number of brands when they were related to the subject of the storylilne however, on 3 February 2012, the RTÜK issued a fine of 310 thousand TL for violating the legislation as one such advertisement was not in any way related to the story. The actors also became the face of many brands with the characters they played in the series.
