After three years of scenario work, every detail was meticulously prepared over 13 months. The Great Seljuks: Guardians of Justice is written by Serdar Özönalan, directed by Sedat İnci and produced by Emre Konuk.
The series has attracted attention with its actors, costumes, historical locations and story.
The show won the Anatolia Media Awards in 2020, while Konuk won the Crystal Globe Awards in the same year.
The season was well received in Turkey, being called a "record-breaking television series", and popularised the show in Turkey due to the casting of famous actors, also becoming popular in countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan. The season was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey. In 2021, the production company Akli Film was accused of mistreating its set workers. The season went through a 13-month preparation time in which details were meticulously planned, although it includes some historical inaccuracies. Turkish musician Gökhan Kırdar composed the opening theme while Kazakh musicians composed other music using instruments from the Turkic world. The season was filmed on the TRT International Film Studios at various locations including Sakarya, Istanbul and Kocaeli. The season premiered on 28 September 2020 and ended on. In the season Turkish actor Buğra Gülsoy portrays Sultan Malik-Shah, and Ekin Koç portrays Sanjar. It focuses on the life of Malik-Shah I, and his son, Ahmad Sanjar, telling the story of the Seljuk Empire's structure, political events and wars during Malik-Shah's rule as Sultan. The first season of The Great Seljuks: Guardians of Justice was written by Serdar Özönalan, directed by Sedat İnci and produced by Emre Konuk. Search The Great Seljuks: Guardians of Justice (season 1) on Amazon.