Director: Benal Tairi
Survival on the street rarely looks like a story with a happy middle, and "Ates Kuslari" doesn't pretend otherwise as it follows a group of children trying to hold onto childhood in conditions built to strip it away.
What is Ates Kuslari about?
"Ates Kuslari" follows a small group of children who have ended up living on the streets, forming a makeshift family out of necessity rather than choice. The series doesn't romanticize their circumstances: hunger, exploitation, and constant danger shape their days, and the adults around them are as likely to threaten their safety as protect it. What holds the show together is the bond between the children themselves — the small rituals, loyalties, and quiet acts of care they build to survive. Rather than following a single case toward resolution, the series moves through their daily struggle to stay fed, stay together, and stay hopeful in a world that offers them very little of either.
Cast & crew
Ilayda Alişan and Görkem Sevindik lead a young ensemble asked to carry material well beyond typical coming-of-age television, and the cast largely avoids the sentimentality that stories about street children can lean on. Hande Soral and Burak Tozkoparan round out the surrounding adult roles.
Context & significance
Released in 2023, "Ates Kuslari" belongs to a strand of Turkish drama willing to center working-class and marginalized childhoods rather than softening them for broader appeal. Its subject — the precarious lives of street children — is treated as social reality within the story rather than as a device for shock value.
Where & how to watch
"Ates Kuslari" is available on K-Time with Persian dubbing and Persian subtitles, so viewers can watch in whichever version fits them best. The page is free to browse without logging in; streaming the series itself requires a K-Time account, and the platform's entire experience is designed around Farsi-speaking viewers.