Streaming giant Netflix has canceled
the drama If Only after the Turkish government blocked filming
over the inclusion of a gay character.
According to the BBC, Netflix killed
the Turkish drama on the eve of filming after the government refused
to grant a filming license to the studio.
“Due to a gay character, permission
to film the series was not granted and this is very frightening for
the future,” screenwriter
Ece Yorenc told the Turkish film website Altyazi
Fasikul.
If Only was not a gay drama,
instead it told the story of a woman in an unhappy marriage who
regrets marrying her husband. Özge
Özpirinçci
was set to star in the show's leading role.
Yorenc said that Netflix refused to cut
the gay character, as the government demanded, and instead abandoned
the project.
In a statement, Netflix said that it
remains “deeply committed” to its subscribers in Turkey, adding
that it had “several Turkish originals in production.”