The tour has seen screaming crowds besieging him at airports and hotels in Italy, Greece and beyond – all territories where Daydreamer has been a hit. But it’s not the only one! Can Yaman, TV’s top leading man of 2019 (according to E! News), has two big shows on the Global Agency slate. “I can’t choose between them, they’re like my kids!” he said.
In the first, romantic drama Bitter Sweet, he takes on the role of clean-cut businessman; whereas in Daydreamer, a dramedy, he plays a free-spirited, rugged photographer who is forced home to Istanbul to look after his ill father’s business – only to fall in love with independent, adventurous Sanem (played by Turkish actor and model Demet Özdemir). Debuting in 2018, Daydreamer doubled its Turkish channel’s audience share, and has now sold widely through Europe and the Middle East.
At MIPCOM he is very much in Daydreamer mode, very hirsute and dressed like his character, also called Can. “He’s an original character in terms of styling,” Yaman said, adding that man buns, beards and cowboy boots had become popular in Turkey thanks to the show’s success.
But despite the character’s maverick air, he attributed the show’s popularity to its good old-fashioned love story, its sense of humour and the clever, nuanced script. “It’s a real rom-com, a love story of the kind that you don’t get much on TV these days,” he said. “People miss watching them. Plus, it’s a lot of fun, it’ll make you smile.”
This is an advance extract from the MIPCOM News Issue 4; full issue online here!
