Ateş Denizi fired its lead after a narcotics raid on set — and reshot every scene

Ateş Denizi (Sea of Fire) is a drama produced by Sepya Film for TRT Tabii, the streaming platform of Turkey's public broadcaster, shot at the old Beykoz leather-and-shoe factory in Istanbul. The lead — playing the character Nezih — was Erdem Kaynarca, an Istanbul-born, stage-trained actor, and the entire shoot ran on him being on set every day.

On the afternoon of June 17, 2026 narcotics police entered the set after a tip about banned substances. Kaynarca was in his caravan preparing for a scene; officers searched the caravan and then his car, and took him to the narcotics unit in Halkalı, where he gave a statement and hair and blood samples were taken. The car search found nothing negative and he was released that night — but filming stopped for a week.

On June 18, Sepya Film's general coordinator Hakan Yıldız issued a formal statement: the company had examined carefully the judicial process opened against Kaynarca over 'use of banned substances' and — citing the sensitivity it had attached to the issue since casting began — terminated his contract unilaterally for cause, saying he had 'wasted the labour' of the crew. The production would continue with a new actor, as planned. Every scene Kaynarca had already shot was thrown away; industry sources put the cost in the millions of lira.