‘Museum of Innocence’ series to premiere on Netflix in February

ISTANBUL

Netflix announced on Tuesday the release date of “The Museum of Innocence,” the screen adaptation of Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk’s internationally acclaimed novel, unveiling the news with a special video from the series.

The nine-episode drama will premiere worldwide on Feb. 13 exclusively on Netflix. Pamuk’s novel, considered a modern classic, has been translated into more than 60 languages and read by millions, while the real-life Museum of Innocence in Istanbul has attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors since its opening.

Directed by Zeynep Günay and written by Ertan Kurtulan, the series is produced by Ay Yapım. Selahattin Paşalı and Eylül Lize Kandemir star in the lead roles, with a supporting cast that includes Oya Unustası, Tilbe Saran, Bülent Emin Yarar, Gülçin Kültür Şahin and Ercan Kesal.

Set in Istanbul in the 1970s, “The Museum of Innocence” follows the turbulent relationship between Kemal, the son of a wealthy family, and his distant relative Füsun. Through a layered narrative, the story explores love, obsession, longing and missed chances against the backdrop of a changing city.

Based on Pamuk’s novel, the series centers on Kemal’s all-consuming love for Füsun. Defying social conventions and those around him, Kemal begins collecting objects connected to her life — from earrings and hairpins to cigarette butts — turning his passion into an enduring obsession. The story raises a central question: Is love an accident that leads to pain and fixation, or a pure and profound happiness?