Karga Seven Pictures’ Rise of Empires: Ottoman to Bow on Netflix

Rise of Empires: Ottoman, a new docudrama produced by the Red Arrow Studios company Karga Seven Pictures in association with STXtv, is slated to bow on Netflix later this month.

The six-hour series, previously titled Ottoman Rising, chronicles the story of Mehmed the Conqueror, from 13-year-old child sultan to the man who went on to topple Constantinople and become the ruler of the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. It will launch on Netflix in 190 countries on January 24.

An English-language production, Rise of Empires: Ottoman was shot in multiple locations in Turkey, facilitated by Karga Seven’s Turkish production outfit. The series is written by Liz Lake, Kelly McPherson and Emre Sahin, and Sahin also directs.

Charles Dance (The Crown, Game of Thrones) narrates the English-speaking version of the series. The cast includes Tommaso Basili (Emperor Constantine XI), and renowned Turkish talent including Cem Yi̇ği̇t Üzümoğlu (Sultan Mehmed II), Tuba Büyüküstün (Mara Hatun), Bi̇rkan Sokullu (Giovanni Giustiniani Longo), Seli̇m Bayraktar (Çandarli Halil Paşa), Osman Sonant (Loukas Notaras), Tolga Teki̇n (Sultan Murad II), Ushan Çakır (Zaganos Paşa), Damla Sönmez (Ana), Tansu Bi̇çer (Orban) and İlayda Akdoğan (Therma Sphrantzes). Historians Roger Crowley and Jason Goodwin are also featured.

Sarah Wetherbee, founding partner of Karga Seven Pictures, said: “The Ottoman era is a fascinating period of history, and from the very beginning we knew we wanted to use a combination of strong documentary narrative and epic scripted to tell this story. With Karga having such a well-established production base in Istanbul, filming in Turkey has enabled us to produce the lavish, high-end series we wanted to make, and it has been great to partner with STX and Netflix to bring the show to life.”

Jada Miranda of STXtv said: “At STX, we are most attracted to stories that bridge the world’s divides, and this story from the past gives an exciting and thrilling perspective on a collision of cultures that we’re still seeing today. We’re thrilled to have partnered with Karga Seven and Netflix to bring this cinematic story to life for audiences around the globe.