Netflix’s Turkish psychological thriller Not a Stranger has climbed to the top of the streamer’s Global Non-English TV chart after more than doubling its viewership in its second week.
Released on September 17, the eight-episode series opened its first full Netflix week with 4.6 million views, ranking second on the Global Non-English TV chart for September 14-20. It then jumped to 9.7 million views for the September 21-27 period, making it the most-watched non-English TV title globally that week. The series generated 65.7 million viewing hours during the period and has reached 14.3 million views across its first two weeks.
Elçin Sangu and Melis Sezen Lead the Turkish Thriller
Created and written by Tuğba Doğan and directed by Mert Baykal, Not a Stranger stars Elçin Sangu as Funda, Melis Sezen as nanny Nazlı and Ozan Dolunay as Funda’s husband İlker.
Not a Stranger follows Funda, a new mother and artist who wants to return to her career after giving birth. When she hires Nazlı to care for her daughter, the seemingly ideal nanny gradually brings a series of secrets and tensions into the family home. Netflix describes the series as a psychological, suspenseful and slow-burn drama built around secrets and mind games.
The performances of Sangu and Sezen have also helped put the series at the centre of attention. Sangu plays Funda as the character struggles with motherhood, her stalled artistic career and growing uncertainty about the people around her, while Sezen’s Nazlı becomes increasingly unsettling as the story unfolds. International coverage has highlighted Sangu’s emotional range and Sezen’s performance as the mysterious nanny.
The series is an original story rather than a book adaptation, with its eight episodes now available globally on Netflix. Its rapid rise on the platform’s weekly chart follows an initial launch that saw the title enter the Top 10 in 62 countries.
With Not a Stranger moving from No. 2 to No. 1 and viewership rising from 4.6 million to 9.7 million in a week, the Turkish production has emerged as one of Netflix’s strongest-performing non-English series of the current period.
