Shahmaran (2023)

Unless you're steeped in Persian folklore, odds are good that you've never heard of the mythical half woman half snake creature known as Shahmaran, which lends its name to a 2023 Netflix series from Turkey. Sahsu (Serenay Sarikaya) has traveled to the city of Adana for a lecture, though she's not interested in the speech so much as she is in the speaker, her grandfather Davut (Mustafa Ugurlu), who abandoned his family when Sahsu's mother was a child. Davut shares with Sahsu his belief that she has a central role to play in the fulfilling of an ancient prophecy, which she writes off entirely... until she meets Maran (Burak Deniz). Of course, Sahsu doesn't realize that falling hard for this mysterious stranger is all part of the greater plan for her life that's completely out of her control. Let's be honest, who wouldn't fall for tall, dark, and handsome Burak Deniz if they first caught sight of him—like Sahsu does—while he's skinny dipping, showing off his buns and even a hint of balls!