The Club (2021–2023) User Reviews

Another Amazing Turkish Netflix Show!

[bryonybedford · 9/10 · 7 November 2021]

Kulup aka The Club is an amazing all star cast new Turkish show on Netflix set in the 1950s of Istanbul. It's very well acted, good script, good storyline. Salih Bademici can SING! I was blown away by his voice, amazing! It's a very nice story of a mother trying to connect with her daughter after 17 years after being in prison.

I think people should watch the show with an open mind and just enjoy the show, the story, and the breath taking performances from the actors and actresses. Ignore the negative reviews.

A little bit credit plz

[evinyil · 9/10 · 8 November 2021]

I decided to write this because of a huge misunderstanding. The show did not end but at halt till december. There are 4 more episodes. And about show, the actors were outstanding. The acting was really great but also the visualization of the era was also great. I usually don't watch Turkish dramas but this was a hit and I'm planning to recommend it to my friends from other countries.

History lesson woven in love and drama

[yurdadogru · 9/10 · 14 November 2021]

I loved everything about This show.

Great history lesson! Ethnic diversity is such a big part of Istanbul and Turkey afcourse.

To bad things happened the way they did.

The turkisch spoken with al the (for me) old and unfamiliar words...great.

I hope there will be alot more episodes of this show I cant wait.

Love the storyline.

[gabriella-71231 · 10/10 · 11 November 2021]

This is a great story, love the time period of the 1950s, costumes and casting is perfection. Again, another wonderful Turkish series with unique story telling and engaging from beginning to end. I would like to continue with more episodes for sure.

It was touching

[Rahel_ · 10/10 · 26 December 2021]

As a Jewish and Israeli woman I would like to thank the producers of this serie for what they brought. Except for making a quality drama they really tried to show history through the story. They didn't paint any of the sides in unneeded colors. Just kept it real.

I remember a Jewish man who grew up in Turkey telling me how he missed it, how great it was to live there and how close were the relationships he had with Muslims there, but because of the political situation his Muslim friends used to tell him it would be better for him to convert to Islam, then he won't have the problems he had. He said many people were hiding their religious symbols in order not to get in trouble. I could sense his words through the serie.

Thanks again.

A Milestone in Turkish Series Cinematography

[edizozturk · 10/10 · 15 November 2021]

This would be one of the milestones in Turkish Series history. Because this is a costume drama, some of the details are extraordinary. There is a taste of old Turkey cosmopolite society and a drama with a love story blended very well. Also Salih Bademci's performance is magnificient, he is not only acting but feels the passion from the heart.

Great Turkish drama serie

[matthieupannier · 10/10 · 11 November 2021]

Superbe casting and well played in only 6 episodes. Loves the music especially, the costumes and the club ambiance. Would have loved to see more the spectacle in the club and more history flashback between Matilda and Celebi. Good story to follow and an openness to other actors and life story.

Worth watching

[hesapbaran · 7/10 · 11 February 2022]

It reflects the Istanbul of the 1950s very well. Its cosmopolitan but out of touch.

Costumes and scenery are very well done.

And it showed some events that are usualy not talked about. There are some historical inaccuracies but its worth watching.

Pure Art

[yusufpiskin · 10/10 · 12 November 2021]

Art design, cinematography, sound mixing, actors and actresses, directors.... A Turkish series, each episode of which was completed with the meticulousness of a Scorsese film.

Congratulations to Netflix. I hope more similar productions will come through this door.

Amazing.

[mefmet · 11 January 2022]

The visuals, particularly in the first part, were striking. Gökçe Bahadir gives probably her best effort with a character that feels like it was crafted just for her, she was mesmerizing. And Salih Bademci... Gosh. I would love to see more of him in more "uncaged" productions like The Club. Of course there were some lacks, some moments left hanging in the air, the unbelievably self-contradictory personalities of some characters... But the overall work, with its overlapping layers from totally different but connected sources, especially given that it's a Turkish series, charmed me. One of the best Turkish series I've ever watched.

A turkish tribute to the Almodovar cinema

[imursel · 7/10 · 17 April 2022]

Gokce Bahadir is a amazing actress deserves more ambitious productions such an European Arthouse film or Hollywood movie. The plot has melodramatic touches. Those touches reminiscent of typical Almodovarian cinematic elements, such as human lives and hopes lost in social turmoil, and a handful of ashes left by those lives burned like embers, accompanied by a music in the background that whips pain and finally ending with some hope in the final touch, form the essence of the film.

Excellent drama with great music

[matthieupannier · 10/10 · 11 November 2021]

Loved the music and the costumes of this serie as it gives you an other perspective of the great Istanbul in the 50's.

Great actors too and the cabaret could have been longer.

It Needs a New Title

[TheCanka · 7/10 · 28 November 2021]

To start off with some positives; the acting, costumes, set design and the idea of the club was really really good. I also quite liked how it presented the time's Alafranga vs Alaturka scenes in Turkey, which translates to European vs Turkic in lifestyle and art.

But unfortunately, yet again, a Turkish series must have human relationships as its' main plot. While the show's name remained "The Club", it was never really about the club, was it? The club was merely a side plot where you'd wait for some story development every episode, yet the characters and their relationships would take almost the entirety of each episode.

I must add the story was quite interesting still with a minority community of Istanbul being delved into, yet it couldn't save itself from cliché and stereotypical events in the end. I believe this story was written perhaps before Netflix sponsored it, to fit the Turkish production budgets, and therefore it "lacked".

S02 a disappointment...

[aulkumen · 4/10 · 28 September 2023]

As much as S01 was truly great in its uniqueness and the way it was shot, S02 in comparison is a huge disappointment like as if they had run out of a great storyline like in S01. It was basically the same characters ruminating over pretty much nothing. Some of the acting this time around was pretty bad which is unfortunate and there were some scenes that were unnecessarily explicit which is a shame. In the end I really felt like I had wasted my time.

If they were to release an S03 which I doubt because it seems like they have run out of a coherent story to tell, I don't think I will bother watching it.

Thank you Netflix

[cford490 · 8/10 · 6 January 2022]

Netflix is helping to redine Turkish tv series and cinema. Bringing great scripts, hi quality production and good performances for the world to enjoy. But most of all daring to push beyond the usual Turkish soap operas (dizis). The Club is superb in every way. Don't miss it.

Salih Bademci seemed unbelievable.

[fnddrsn · 8/10 · 9 November 2021]

Everyone thought he was a great actor; Salih Bademci. He became a giant with his acting. He has displayed such a strong acting that everyone who watches it is almost fascinated and you want to watch it again and again.

Superb

[bzr1954 · 10/10 · 9 November 2021]

Outstanding actors coupled with an intriguing storyline make this series one not to be missed. I hope that the six episodes are not the complete series. I waited for this with anticipation and was not disappointed.

Great,unbelievably not expected

[misschecker · 8/10 · 17 January 2022]

This series deserves to be watched, do not skip it. Actors,music,costumes ,storyline are excellent. Maybe there are some inaccuracies but it shows the beautiful time of Istanbul ,where a lot of ethnicities were living together peacefully and what exactly happened because of desire for money and power. As a greek with greek relatives who were raped and killed then i did not expect to watch a turkish production showing some true events. Bravo for that. It is better to accept our wrongs,say sorry and move on. I think some bad reviews are from turkish people who did not like to watch what happened to other people with other religion at that times. The main point of the film is not to show the turkish as villains but to show that the different cultures can exist together peacefully when everything is innocent and when there are open minded people. As for the role of Ismet,it reminded me that this film portrays good the fact that turkish men love many times girls from other ethnicities but at last marry turkish girls because of what the society or family will think.

Effort has been made because it is a period drama, but nothing more...

[ozgencsutlu · 6/10 · 27 January 2022]

I started this series by finding it worth watching because it refers to the "Wealth Tax" and "September 6-7 events", which are a bad stain in the history of the Republic of Turkey and perhaps have not found a place in any movie or TV series until this. However, there were more cheap and predictable love stories and the miraculous changes and transformations of the bad-grounded characters instead...

IMPRESSIVE

[bunyamin-altay · 9/10 · 13 November 2021]

I measure a film with the cumulative of the feelings I am left with throughout the film. I could not take my eyes from the screne at all episodes, finished at once. Very well thought dialoges(not a single unnecessary word), good story, stunning scene, perfect costumes, outstanding acting. Gokce Bahadir, Firat Tanis and Salih Bademci are at their top performances. Gokce acts more than natural, as if there's no camera around. I was like watching 8+ imdb $500 ml box office hollwood film. Oh it deserves actually. Looking forward to the next 4 episodes of the first season, said to come in December.

Amazing!

[onuroz-83830 · 10/10 · 19 December 2021]

The actors, the cinematography and the script were great. This tv series deserve more than 8 points. I was shocked to see it did not get the score that it deserved. And when I read some of the reviews I had realized that some people were blaming it with not being "historically accurate". Yes there are some minor mistakes with regard to social and economical structure of 1950s. However with regard to Jewish (and non-muslim) life in Istanbul in 50s, everything was pretty accurate. I believe some people take it the wrong way and think that the show portrayes Turkish people and muslims as villians. But this is obviously not the aim of the show. On the contrary, "Kulüp" shows that Jewish people and Muslims were happy living together and it was some money craving people and the government who disturbed this happiness and balance. It is one of the best Turkish TV series I have ever watched. I strongly recommend it. One actor particularly was amazing to watch. His name is Salih Bademci. I think, he was the perfect choice for the role.

Old-School Melodrama

[acevik · 3/10 · 8 November 2021]

It is nothing but an old-school melodrama built on Plautus' comic devices such as misunderstanding, misidentification etc.. In the early 1950s Ismet the taxi-driver, a noble savage who has a good command of English, quotes from Kuvai Milli Destani, an epic poem by Nazim Hikmet, published in Turkey in 1965.

Quite simply: a good show.

[alexlomba87 · 8/10 · 28 November 2021]

It may not be the most accurate historical reproduction of 1950s Instanbul, but this show entertains, and it does it well.

The story is original, the cast is exceptionally good, and everything just works. There are just a few things that I wished worked better: some plot points, some of the storytelling, and more contextualisation of the Club and its music.

All in all, very good.

Sooooo good!!

[silviaavnet · 10/10 · 8 January 2022]

I recomend this great show. The cast, the story,the Fabulous music, wardrobe, everything is done/filmed with love and professionalism. I enjoyed every minute of it!!!go for it you won't be sorry.

Nice part of the world 💜

[deryayilmazkayaa · 10/10 · 13 November 2021]

When you see Istanbul in episode, you want to live in that years.. all places and decors are thought out very well. You feel the characters, you feel the streets, you can smell the time while you watch.. Everybody should see this beautiful scennes..