Man on Pause (Andropoz) is the latest Turkish drama series, released on Netflix on 7th October 2022. The series is directed by Durul Taylan and Yagmur Taylan, while Engin Günaydin writes the screenplay. There are six episodes in total with a runtime of about 45 minutes.
The series cast includes Engin Günaydin, Gülçin Santircioglu, Yuliia Sobol, Sebnem Hassanisoughi, Turgut Tuncalp, Tamer Karadagli, Derya Karadas, Doga Zeynep Doguslu, Zeynep Selimoglu, Ergin Torun, Melissa Dilber and Merih Dilber.
-Man on Pause Review Does Not Contain Any Spoiler-
Yusuf is an ordinary family man, with two kids, who just realises himself going through andropause. As his appreciation for his beloved wife increases, he decides to make some changes in their lives.
Deciding to move to a dream house will merge Yusuf’s life with the complicated life of the wealthy landlord Mahmut Timucin, his violent Russian lover Svetlana, the ex-wife Sahinde, their hot twin girls and Yusuf’s bizarre sister and husband. It is a family drama with absurd comedy elements through the story and characters.
In the series, we are introduced to Yusuf, who leads a modest life with his family in Marmaris and tries to change his whole life, starting with himself, under the influence of a midlife crisis. He bleaches his hair, goes on a beach date with his wife, clicks selfies with his family and even signed up for Instagram. He becomes a completely changed man but what is the reason behind it?
He says time is his enemy, and in a blink of an eye, his life may go past him. So he just wants to seek happiness now and live a good life, achieve his ambitions. But at the start of the series, we see that a dead man’s body, covered in blood and wearing happy underpants, was floating on a boat in the sea. Is it a premonition, is this Yusuf’s fate?
The sudden change in his appearance to personality creates a chain reaction, where everyone thinks that he is going to die, probably from cancer and they also start behaving strangely around him. With his brother-in-law prying on him to open up and spill his pain, to his children already dividing the assets, everyone has already imagined the worst.
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But the man is only trying to change his life and the misunderstandings create some comedic interactions with the other characters. As a change, he wants to buy a beachside house which introduces us to Mahmut Timucin, owner of the house and his troubled family situation. Apart from him, we also get to see the troubled marriage life of Yusuf’s sister Fadime and brother-in-law Halit.
Every character has their own issues that they are dealing with, and as their lives intertwine with each other, the chaos becomes bigger and consumes all of their lives. In the start, there is an unsettling feeling, like something is going to go wrong, but no jumpscare like that happens. Instead, it’s a culmination of all the bizarre things that could happen in someone’s life.
Summing Up: Man on Pause
Andropoz can be aptly called a dark comedy with hints of suspense. There is a feeling of impending doom but you are not sure when and with whom it will occur. While the series describes itself as being about a man going through andropause, which is clear at the start. But as the story progresses though, it looks like a story about a forgetful man, who is just doing anything or trying to seek an illusion of happiness.
Everything connects and is concluded in the end, but the middle portion in between makes you question, what is even happening here. The main key plot is about change. The creators want to portray that change takes great courage. Not everyone can afford the change and you can even get into trouble, which our lead character obviously does.
I believe they have a good concept but the execution is somewhat bizarre. The characters start to feel obnoxious, like the character of ex-wife Sahinde. If you enjoy Turkish content then you might like it but still need some patience to sit through the six-part series.
Man on Pause is currently streaming on Netflix.
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Hey the brother in law in the serie is very violent with his wife it is not ok!!!!! remove all of these violence against women or ppl will complaint about your bloody script!!! Its horrible!!
I agree, there is no honour in beating women, nontheless it seems like a habit in Turkey, which is not okay at all.