The Town Doctor

After a celebrated career in big-city hospitals, a brilliant surgeon abandons the limelight and takes up work as a neighborhood doctor in a small Turkish town. Using the name Kemal Demir, he runs a modest clinic, handles everyday and emergency cases, and slowly becomes a steady presence for local patients. Younger doctors, like the eager Dr. Ömer and determined Dr. Leyla, arrive with academic training but limited practical experience, and he becomes a strict, demanding mentor to them. The show keeps its focus on patient care, medical ethics, and the tension between prestige and practical service. His past reputation follows him, complicating how locals and colleagues perceive his methods.

Released in 2022, The Town Doctor was adapted from the Korean format Dr. Romantic, created by Kang Eun-kyung and directed by Arda Sarıgün for Turkish television, produced by local studios and anchored by Ozan Akbaba in the lead role.

As of its early seasons there were no major international awards or high-profile festival wins attached to the series. It did, however, earn attention in Turkey for its performances and for translating a popular Korean medical format to a local setting, prompting critics to debate adaptation choices.

The adaptation helped spark conversations about rural healthcare and the prestige of metropolitan medicine in Turkish pop culture, and it introduced Turkish viewers to the mentor-doctor archetype familiar from the Korean original, encouraging local writers to reconsider genre conventions.

Critics and viewers gave mixed to positive responses, reflected by a 7.625/10 user rating on some platforms. Reviews singled out strong lead performances, especially Ozan Akbaba, and noted the series' focus on mentorship, ethical dilemmas in medicine, and the daily pressures of community-focused care. Supporting performances from Deniz Can Aktaş and Hazal Subaşı also drew notice.