Director: Bahram Tavakkoli
Cast: Saber Abar, Pantea Panahiha, Mahtab Servati, Mehraneh Mahintorabi, Mojtaba Pirzadeh
Motarjem is a 2023 Iranian drama and mystery series directed by Bahram Tavakkoli, following a young professional translator whose career path pulls him into a labyrinth of concealed family history with consequences that reach far beyond his own household.
What is Motarjem about?
The series centers on a young man who works as a translator, a profession that places him at the intersection of languages, meanings, and people's most guarded words. As he advances in his career, he stumbles onto buried information that his family has kept hidden for years. The more he uncovers, the clearer it becomes that this secret is not merely personal — it carries weight enough to disturb the equilibrium of an entire community. Each episode tightens the web of tension as he must decide how far he is willing to go to understand the truth, and what price he is prepared to pay for that knowledge.
Cast & crew
Director Bahram Tavakkoli brings his measured dramatic sensibility to this series. The ensemble includes Saber Abar and Pantea Panahiha in prominent roles, alongside Mahtab Servati, Mehraneh Mahintorabi, Mojtaba Pirzadeh, Maral Bani Adam, and Solmaz Ghani — a cast drawn from Iran's established screen and stage talent.
Context & significance
Iranian drama series have long used the thriller and mystery genre to examine the weight of hidden pasts and the structures that families build to protect themselves. Motarjem fits within this tradition while centering a figure whose livelihood depends on precision — a translator who must parse every word — and placing that figure at the heart of a story where meaning itself has been deliberately obscured. For diaspora viewers who grew up navigating multiple languages and identities, the translator as protagonist carries particular resonance, embodying the tension between what is said and what is left unsaid across generations.
Where & how to watch
Motarjem is available on K-Time with original Persian audio. You can watch on the web, on your TV, or on your phone — no VPN needed, no geo-blocking, and cancel anytime.