Cast resignations! Dropping numbers! Is this the end for 7de Laan?

It was once seen as one of the shining stars of SA TV but it seems that the lights are dimming over on 7de Laan.

The SABC 2 soapie has been hit by several big changes over the last few months, leaving it remarkably different and facing an unclear future.

Mass Exodus

For a start, the soapie has recently experienced some of its biggest departures in recent history.

No less than ten main actors have left the show since the turn of the year, including some of the show's most popular characters.

Heino Smit (Altus), Deon Coetzee (Herman Croukamp) and Zane Meas (Neville Meintjies) were some of the first out of the door and were soon joined by Diaan Lawrenson (Paula), Jo da Silva (Gita) and Christo Davids (Errol). At the time of their departure both Jo and Diaan said that they would appear on the show in the future but in a much smaller capacity.

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Just last month the show's creators announced that four more actors were set to leave the show: Masego Sehoole (Pulane), Corné Crous (Kim), Anelisa Phewa (Sifiso) and Melanie du Bois (Felicity). It is understood that Melanie, Corné and Masego's contracts were not renewed by the soapie, while Anelisa had decided to quit in order to fill a position at AFDA in Johannesburg.

But it hasn't only been one-way traffic out of the door. The show also recruited actress Enhle Mbali to play the role of a fashion designer, while calling for auditions to look for fresh new talent.

Times are a changing

And it's not only the faces that are changing at the show.

In the midst of the departures, it was announced that the soapie would be moving time slots to 7pm, starting 30 minutes later than before.

The change received some social media backlash at first, calling it one of the most annoying changes since it changed its theme song last year.

Bleeding numbers

According to the latest viewership figures, the soapie has continued its freefall, losing around 269 527 viewers from June to July.

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The drop, its second in two months, sees it barely making it into the top 10 channels on SABC 2 with 1.8 million viewers.

Quota troubles

Most of these new changes have come under the cloud that has fallen over the SABC following the implementation of a more intense local content quota announced by SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng in July.

The quota, said to be around 80 percent, meant that the broadcaster has invested in several new local shows that has been l seen by some critics as flops or mediocre at best.