Media convergence, transmedia storytelling, and participatory culture in Turkish series: A case study of Leyla ile Mecnun

Abstract

In the current era, digital streaming has become a staple in people's daily lives. Consumers can stream any media content on-demand on various devices, such as smart televisions, smartphones, laptops, desktops, and the like. Moreover, consumers can become content creators and contribute to the ever-expanding media using numerous platforms. Hence, in the 21st century, media convergence, transmedia storytelling, and participatory culture are becoming increasingly relevant, especially considering the fast pace of technological developments that directly impact the production of diverse media worldwide. This chapter will investigate the Turkish television and digital series Leyla ile Mecnun (2011-) to explore the convergence of media, storytelling across various media and platforms, and audience participation in Turkish media content and production. Leyla ile Mecnun [Leyla and Mecnun] is an absurd comedy series initially aired on the Turkish national television channel TRT 1 between 2011 and 2013. After some controversy, the network canceled the series, and the final episode of the series was released in 2014. However, due to fans' high demand, new episodes of Leyla ile Mecnun have recently been released on the digital content platform Exxen, increasing its popularity even more. This chapter aims to utilize Henry Jenkins' ideas on media convergence, transmedia storytelling, and participatory culture to examine media content production across multiple platforms in Turkey and the contribution of the audiences to this process through the case study of Leyla ile Mecnun. © Peter Lang GmbH Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften Berlin 2022. All rights reserved.