Başkalarının Hayatı: Release Date, Cast, Story, Where to Watch 2026

Başkalarının Hayatı (“Other People’s Lives”) is a new Turkish drama set for release on Star TV in 2026, built around ambition, class, romance, and dangerous desire.

It follows a young woman who refuses to accept the life she was born into and will do almost anything to enter a wealthy world she can only admire from a distance.

Produced by Ay Yapım for Star TV, the series brings together a large ensemble cast led by Eylül Lize Kandemir, Burak Berkay Akgül, Mehmet Aslantuğ, Doğa Bayram, and Demirhan Demircioğlu.

Başkalarının Hayatı English Meaning

The most direct translation of Başkalarının Hayatı is “Other People’s Lives.” Star TV has not announced an official international title for streaming or export, so treat this as a literal translation, not a confirmed title.

Is Başkalarının Hayatı a remake? (Adaptation Explained)

Two different sources are named for this show, and they come from different stages of its life.

During development, industry reports said the series was being prepared from the 2004 Mexican telenovela Rubí.

Once the show was ready to air, however, Star TV’s official statement described it as inspired by William Makepeace Thackeray’s Vanity Fair.

So the most accurate answer is: Rubí was reported as the format source early on, while Star TV’s current official description credits Vanity Fair as the inspiration.

Both stories share the same core: a poor, ambitious young woman who uses charm and calculation to climb into wealthy society, which is why both names keep appearing.

Short history of Vanity Fair

Detail	Information
Full title	Vanity Fair: A Novel without a Hero (the original subtitle was Pen and Pencil Sketches of English Society)
Author	William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863), born in Calcutta, British India
Genre	Satirical social novel
Setting	Early 19th-century England and Europe, around the Napoleonic Wars and the Battle of Waterloo
Title source	Taken from “Vanity Fair,” the town of worldly temptation in John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress
Publisher	Bradbury and Evans
Illustrations	Thackeray drew the illustrations himself
Turkish title	Gurur Dünyası

Publication history

Year	Event
1845	Thackeray begins writing the novel
Jan 1847	Serialization begins in monthly installments
July 1848	The 19th and final installment (a double number) is published
1848	The complete novel appears in book form
1848 onward	The book makes Thackeray’s reputation as a leading Victorian novelist

Major adaptations

Year	Adaptation	Notes
1911	Stage play Vanity Fair	An early theatrical version of the story
1935	Film Becky Sharp	Starring Miriam Hopkins, and the first full-length feature in three-strip Technicolor
1967	BBC TV series	Starring Susan Hampshire as Becky
1987	BBC TV series	Starring Eve Matheson
1998	BBC TV series	Starring Natasha Little
2004	Film directed by Mira Nair	Starring Reese Witherspoon
2018	ITV/Amazon series	Starring Olivia Cooke
2026	Başkalarının Hayatı (Turkey)	Described by Star TV as inspired by Vanity Fair

Rubí’s real lineage — and why that matters more than a Thackeray comparison

For context, here is the history of Rubí, the telenovela named in early reports

Year	Adaptation	Country	Notes
1963–64	Original comic strip	Mexico	Written by Yolanda Vargas Dulché for the magazine Lágrimas, Risas y Amor
1968	Rubí (TV)	Mexico	First TV adaptation, starring Fanny Cano
1970	Rubí (film)	Mexico	Starring Irán Eory
2004	Rubí	Mexico	The definitive, most-remembered version — 115 episodes, starring Bárbara Mori; sold to over 20 countries and later marketed as the version other remakes are based on
2010	Rubi	Philippines	ABS-CBN, starring Angelica Panganiban, 127 episodes
2012	Ruby	Egypt/Lebanon	Arabic-language remake starring Cyrine Abdelnour
2020	Rubí	Mexico	A 27-episode reboot for Televisa, starring Camila Sodi
2026	Başkalarının Hayatı	Turkey	This series, with Hülya standing in for Rubí Pérez

That lineage is the more useful comparison for viewers than Vanity Fair: it tells you this is a known, tested melodrama format with a track record of hits (and it tells longtime Turkish TV viewers something specific: Rubí actually aired dubbed on Turkish television in the early 2000s and built a real local following, which several outlets note is fueling nostalgia interest in this remake now).

It also matters for how the story likely ends. The original 2004 Rubí is famous for a genuinely dark, morally punishing finale in which the heroine’s scheming costs her almost everything.

A Vanity Fair framing suggests satire and moral ambiguity; a Rubí framing suggests melodrama with teeth and a reckoning.

Başkalarının Hayatı Plot and Story

At the center of the story is Hülya (Eylül Lize Kandemir), a young woman who has just started university and refuses to accept poverty as her permanent fate, the local counterpart to Rubí Pérez in the original.

Everything changes when she meets Neslihan (Doğa Bayram), daughter of the wealthy, established Fikret Özkaran (Mehmet Aslantuğ). Through Neslihan, Hülya finally gets close to the privileged world she has always wanted, but entering someone else’s world is not the same as belonging to it.

As Hülya chases that world, her path crosses with Erim (Demirhan Demircioğlu), while a growing attraction to Doctor Sarp (Burak Berkay Akgül) adds another emotional thread. Meanwhile, Mediha (Sezin Akbaşoğulları) watches her with open suspicion, unconvinced by her intentions.

Başkalarının Hayatı Cast And Characters

Hülya’s Backstory: Where She Comes From

Most coverage of the series describes Hülya’s background only in vague terms: “poor,” “difficult circumstances.”

Turkish trade reporting is more specific: Hülya lives with her mother and older sister in a gecekondu, an informal, working-class settlement on the city’s margins, and she is admitted to her university on a half-scholarship rather than full funding.

That detail matters for the story’s class conflict: she is not an outsider looking in from extreme poverty, but someone who has earned a foothold in an elite world and still cannot afford to belong, a sharper, more specific setup than “poor girl meets rich girl.”

Who Is Eylül Lize Kandemir?

Eylül Lize Kandemir, the actress who plays Hülya, was born in 2001 in Istanbul and graduated in Industrial Engineering from Özyeğin University before training as an actor at Erbulak Evi and Craft Tiyatro.

Her screen career began in 2020 with the series Zemheri, followed by roles in Elbet Bir Gün and Ah Nerede. She played Yasemin Yılmaz in Kardeşlerim from 2022–2024, and most recently broke out as Füsun in 2026’s Masumiyet Müzesi, the role that reportedly led Ay Yapım to cast her as Hülya. Başkalarının Hayatı is her first lead role in a mainstream prime-time drama.

The series pairs young leads with experienced names. The story pits Hülya and her family, who live with limited means, against the wealthy Özkaran and Korhanlı families.

Main cast

Actor	Character	Who they are in the story
Eylül Lize Kandemir	Hülya	A poor family’s daughter who won a half-scholarship to university.
Burak Berkay Akgül	Doctor Sarp	Hülya’s central love interest. He grows closer to Hülya as the story develops.
Doğa Bayram	Neslihan Özkaran	A wealthy young woman who befriends Hülya at university and, unknowingly, opens the door to the world Hülya dreams of.
Demirhan Demircioğlu	Erim Korhanlı	His return to Istanbul stirs up the story’s emotional side.
Mehmet Aslantuğ	Fikret Özkaran	Neslihan’s father and the head of the wealthy Özkaran family
Sezin Akbaşoğulları	Mediha	The woman who raised Neslihan. She is suspicious of Hülya.

The Korhanlı family

Actor	Character	Role
Tolga Tekin	Haluk Korhanlı	Erim’s father.
Oya Okar	Jale Korhanlı	Erim’s mother.

Hülya’s and Sarp’s families

Actor	Character	Role
Hazar Motan	Sema	Hülya’s older sister, who carries the household burden and pays for Hülya’s education.
Sinem Dağ	Dila	Doctor Sarp’s younger sister.

About the lead actors

Actor	Background
Eylül Lize Kandemir	At 24 at the time of the premiere, she became widely known through Kardeşlerim and Masumiyet Müzesi.
Doğa Bayram	Aged 24 in 2026. She previously played Zeliha in Sahipsizler.
Burak Berkay Akgül	Born in 1997 in Istanbul.
Demirhan Demircioğlu	Born in 1999 in Istanbul.
Sinem Dağ	Earlier projects include Gönül Dağı and Benim Adım Aylamaz.
Tolga Tekin	Born in 1973 in Ankara and a graduate of Hacettepe University State Conservatory’s theatre department.
Oya Okar	Born on 12 January 1986 in Istanbul and a graduate of Bilkent University’s theatre department.

Creative team

Role	Name
Directors	Burak Müjdeci and Ozan Say
Producer	Kerem Çatay (Ay Yapım)

What Actually Happens in the Original Vanity Fair

Most Turkish coverage says Başkalarının Hayatı is “inspired by Vanity Fair” without explaining what that story is. Thackeray’s novel (1847-1848) follows two women who leave the same school in 1813 and take very different paths through English society.

Spoiler warning: the summary below covers the whole novel, including its ending.

Element	Vanity Fair (1847-1848)	Başkalarının Hayatı (2026)
Heroine	Becky Sharp, a poor orphan	Hülya, a poor scholarship student
Wealthy friend	Amelia Sedley	Neslihan Özkaran
Starting point	School friendship opens the door to wealth	University friendship opens the door to wealth
Tone	Satire and moral ambiguity	Melodrama and romance
Ending	Ambiguous, no clear punishment	Not yet known

The story in brief

Becky Sharp is a poor, clever orphan with no family connections. Her friend Amelia Sedley is wealthy, gentle and sheltered.

Becky leaves school determined to win a place in high society, and she first tries to marry Amelia’s wealthy brother, Jos. It fails, and she becomes a governess in the Crawley household instead.

There she secretly marries Rawdon Crawley, hoping to inherit from his rich aunt. The aunt disinherits him, so Becky and Rawdon live in London on charm and credit, the “living on nothing a year” of the novel’s famous chapter. Becky eventually rises to the edge of the aristocracy, helped by the corrupt Lord Steyne.

Amelia’s path goes the other way. She marries George Osborne, a vain man unworthy of her love, and he dies at the Battle of Waterloo. She then lives in poverty, devoted to his memory and to their son, while the loyal Captain Dobbin quietly loves her for years.

How it ends

Rawdon discovers Becky’s closeness to Lord Steyne and leaves her, and her social standing collapses.

She drifts across Europe, living on her wits, and reunites with Jos, who dies soon afterward under suspicious circumstances. Amelia finally sees George’s flaws clearly and marries Dobbin.

Unlike the tragic finale of the Rubí telenovela, Vanity Fair gives Becky no clean punishment or redemption.

She ends up comfortable, even respectable, and Thackeray closes the book with a shrug about vanity rather than a moral verdict.

The parallels are thematic, and the Turkish series sets its own story in modern Türkiye, so do not expect a scene-by-scene retelling. Because Star TV calls the show “inspired by” the novel rather than a faithful adaptation, Hülya’s ending remains an open question.

The full announced cast also includes Tolga Tekin, Oya Okar, Hazar Motan, Feri Baycu, Esra Kızıldoğan, Ali Pınar, Sinem Dağ, Lorin Merhart, Fırat Kaymak, Deniz Ekinci, Elif İnci, Cem Baza, İbrahim Şahin, Zümra Sağdınç, and Erkan Bektaş — a mix of rising talent and veteran performers.

Production Team and Crew

• Production Company: Ay Yapım
• Screenwriter: Banu Kiremitçi Bozkurt (adapting the Rubí format for Turkish audiences)
• Director: Burak Müjdeci
• Broadcaster: Star TV

Başkalarının Hayatı Release Date

Başkalarının Hayatı premiered on Saturday, 26 September 2026, at 20:00 on Star TV. Star TV made the date official in a 23 September announcement. That ended earlier uncertainty, when Turkish media had pointed only to a September-October launch.

The series airs weekly. Star TV broadcasts new episodes every Saturday at 20:00. The first episode drew a positive response on social media.

Quick facts

Detail	Information
Premiere date	26 September 2026
Broadcast day	Saturday
Time	20:00 (Türkiye time)
Channel	Star TV
Production	Ay Yapım
Director	Burak Müjdeci

Times are Turkish local time (UTC+3), so international viewers should convert to their own time zone.

Where to Watch Başkalarının Hayatı Online

The series will air on Star TV in Türkiye, and episodes are usually available the same day on Star TV’s streaming platform for viewers in the country.

Right now, Başkalarının Hayatı is not on Netflix or Prime Video, and there is no confirmed international streaming deal, subtitle release, or licensing partner. If you are outside Türkiye and want to watch with English subtitles, you will need to wait for an official announcement about international distribution.

How to Watch Star TV Outside Türkiye

Star TV’s live broadcast and its domestic streaming platform are geo-restricted to viewers with a Turkish IP address, which is the main obstacle for the large international audience Turkish dramas typically build. Until Başkalarının Hayatı lands on an international platform, there are two realistic options:

• Use a VPN to connect through a Turkish server. This lets you access Star TV’s stream as if you were browsing from Türkiye. It won’t provide English subtitles on its own—Turkish broadcasters air episodes in Turkish only—but it’s the standard workaround Turkish-drama fan communities use to watch episodes live rather than waiting weeks for a subtitled upload elsewhere.
• Another option is to wait for a licensed streaming release. Other popular Ay Yapım shows, such as Kara Sevda and Çukur, were eventually added to platforms like Netflix or regional MENA and Balkan broadcasters with subtitles, usually several months after their Turkish premieres. This is probably how an official English-subtitled version of this series will be released as well, but the timing depends on how well the show does in Türkiye first.

It is safer to choose a reputable VPN provider with good Turkish server coverage and a no-logs policy. Free VPN services are often slower and less reliable for streaming.

Filming Locations

Official filming locations for Başkalarının Hayatı have not been confirmed yet — no scouting reports or set-visit coverage have specified exact neighborhoods, unlike more established Ay Yapım shows. What is confirmed: the series is being filmed entirely in Türkiye.

For context, Ay Yapım productions for Star TV are almost always shot in and around Istanbul, frequently using upscale neighborhoods like Nişantaşı or gated communities such as Kemer Country to represent wealthy families, alongside historic districts like Balat or Üsküdar for grittier, working-class settings a contrast that would fit this story’s class divide well.

Until a location-scouting report or behind-the-scenes footage confirms specific sets, treat any specific address or neighborhood claim about this show circulating online as unverified.

Conclusion

Başkalarının Hayatı follows a familiar Turkish drama plot: romance, wealth, family tension, and tangled relationships.

What sets it apart is its lineage. Star TV describes the series as inspired by Thackeray’s Vanity Fair, while earlier industry reports linked it to the Mexican telenovela Rubí.

Both stories follow a poor, ambitious young woman who tries to enter a wealthy world that admires her but does not fully accept her.

That double heritage makes the ending hard to predict. Rubí is remembered for a punishing finale, while Vanity Fair closes with irony and moral ambiguity, giving Becky Sharp neither a clear downfall nor redemption.

Since Star TV calls the show “inspired by” its source rather than a faithful adaptation, Hülya’s story could follow either path, or forge its own.

With the series now airing every Saturday at 20:00 on Star TV, viewers will learn week by week which direction it takes. The real question is not whether Hülya gets the life she wants. The real question is whether the version of her who gets there is someone she, or the audience, still recognizes.

FAQ

About The Author