Crossroads (Kazakhstani TV series)

Crossroads
Genresoap opera
Written byLeyla Akhinzhanova
Elena Gordeeva
Albina Akhmetova
Mikhail Belyakov
Directed byAibarsha Bozheeva
Andrey Marmontov
Elena Prokoptseva
Vladimir Tyulkin
Ermek Shinarbaev
Bagdad Mustafin
Country of originKazakhstan
Original languageRussian
No. of episodes465
Production
ProducersAbay Karpykov
Kalykbek Salykov
Running time25 minutes
Production companiesPortabello Pictures, Kazakhfilm
Original release
NetworkKhabar TV
ReleaseApril 11, 1996 (1996-04-11) –
2000 (2000)
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Crossroads (Russian: Перекресток, romanizedPerekryostok) was a Kazakhstani soap opera that ran from 1996 to 2000. It was the first soap opera produced in Kazakhstan. It became the most popular TV program in Central Asia, reportedly reaching 60 million homes in four countries: Russia, Uzbekistan, China and Kazakhstan. It is still unmatched in viewership and duration among Kazakhstani TV shows. The show was funded by a British government program to transfer knowledge to countries in the former Soviet Union and to promote the transition to a market economy.

The story line revolves around two families, the working-class Kazakh Umarovs and the professional-class Russian Platonovs. Their families are joined through marriage of the Umarovs' daughter to the Platonovs' son.

It was recognized as the best series of 1998 at the CIS media forum. A sequel to the series titled Crossroads in Astana started in 2015 on Khabar TV, the same station that aired the original.