Director: Kamal Tabrizi
Cast: Arash Majidi, Hossein Mahjoub, Niki Karimi, Golchehreh Sajjadie, Saeid Rad
Sarzamine Madari is a 2013 Iranian historical drama series directed by Kamal Tabrizi, spanning three seasons that trace the social and political transformations of Iran from 1941 through the revolution of 1979, as seen through the eyes of one boy named Rahi whose life becomes a mirror for an entire era.
What is Sarzamine Madari about?
At the center of this multigenerational saga is Rahi, a young boy who is pulled from the ruins of his village after it is struck during the Allied Forces' wartime bombing campaign. Separated from all that he has known, he makes his way to Tehran, where he is raised within a household that holds leftist political sympathies. As years pass and circumstances shift, Rahi finds himself transferred to a wealthy courtier family, an environment entirely unlike the one that shaped his earliest years. Through these contrasting households — their values, loyalties, and worldviews — he slowly pieces together a sense of who he is. A final chapter of his upbringing unfolds in a devoutly religious family, and each transition deepens the questions around his identity, belonging, and the country being remade around him. The full arc across all three seasons tracks this character from childhood through the defining national events of the mid-twentieth century.
Cast & crew
The series is directed by Kamal Tabrizi, a veteran Iranian filmmaker known for his work across comedy and drama. The ensemble cast includes Arash Majidi, Hossein Mahjoub, and Niki Karimi alongside Golchehreh Sajjadie, Saeid Rad, Parivash Nazarieh, Babak Hamidian, and Leila Zare, with Ali Shadman portraying the young Rahi in the opening season. The breadth of this cast brings weight and credibility to the story's sweeping historical scope.
Context & significance
For Persian-speaking viewers of the diaspora, Sarzamine Madari occupies a distinctive place in Iranian television drama. Its timeline — stretching from the Allied occupation of Iran in the early 1940s through the revolutionary period of 1979 — covers decades that shaped the lives of parents and grandparents of many diaspora families. The series presents this sweep through an intimate personal lens rather than grand political spectacle, making history legible through one character's journey across different families and social strata. Drama in this vein has long held a special resonance for viewers who came of age hearing first-hand accounts of those transformative years, and who now watch from cities far from Iran. The three-season structure gives the story room to develop both character and historical atmosphere at a deliberate pace.
Where & how to watch
Sarzamine Madari is available to stream on K-Time with original Persian audio. You can watch on your web browser, TV, or phone with no extra download and no geo-blocking. A K-Time subscription is required to watch; cancel anytime.