The great soapie exodus in SA: what does it all mean?

SABC2 soapie 7de Laan in July became the latest long-running soapie to get the axe, in a concerning and increasing pattern that has seen firm favourite shows canned.

Fans of the Afrikaans daily soap will — in December — bid the old favourite farewell after 24 seasons. The soap, the brainchild of Danie Odendaal, made its debut on SABC2 on April 4 2000. 

7de Laan publicist Kayleen Bessit said the news of the soapie’s end was met with sadness from cast and crew.

“As with any long-running show, the announcement of its conclusion inevitably brings mixed emotions. While there is a sense of nostalgia and sadness in bidding farewell to the characters and the world of 7de Laan, the cast and crew are also immensely proud of the legacy they have created over the years. The show has been a significant part of their lives, and they cherish the memories and bonds formed during this incredible journey.”

The production company shared that they had some plans to take viewers down memory lane with some of their favourite characters as the show nears its end.

“Throughout the remaining episodes, fans can expect a mixture of emotions as the narrative ties up loose ends, celebrates long-standing relationships, and possibly introduces some surprises along the way.”

Adding: “The creative team is diligently crafting an ending that will honour the show's legacy and resonate with its beloved audience. Regarding the final scene, while we don’t have all the details finalised, we can assure the fans that it will be a memorable and fitting conclusion to the characters and the storylines they have come to love. The team is committed to delivering a finale that encompasses the essence of 7de Laan and the deep connections between the characters, leaving viewers with a sense of closure and satisfaction.”

SABC have been mum on the reasons behind canning the loved Afrikaans show. They did not respond to questions sent by TimesLIVE Premium.

However, speaking to News24 Life, the broadcaster said “the show is too expensive to keep on the air given its viewership”.

7de Laan had 1.19-million viewers in June, making it the most-watched Afrikaans show on South African television and the second-most-watched show on SABC2 after Muvhango with 1.4-million viewers.

The rate at which the shows have been cancelled, however, suggests there’s something bigger at play.

The much-loved SA TV shows that have been canned since 2020:

It’s all about the money

While South Africa may have been late to the introduction of television, our country has enjoyed a rich history of soaps and telenovelas. From Dallas to Dynasty, we were not too far behind the big favourites that were global successes. As the control held by the National Party dwindled in the 80s and 90s, this ended the SABC’s reign as a mouthpiece for the party and there was a need for television that would speak to the masses.

It would be M-Net’s Egoli that would make history by debuting the first soap opera in the country in 1989.

Egoli, Generations and Scandal on e.tv, among others, were a great source of information for its targeted female demographic between 25 to 45 on social topics such as HIV/Aids and most recently gender-based violence, which a fan told US News was her way to broach difficult conversations with her children.

While these programmes participate in the goodwill of raising South Africa’s youth and adults, on the business end they were pivotal cash cows. 

Local NPO, Greater Good reports that South African TV shows make most of their money through advertising. This can be through product placement and licensing deals. They also rely on renting shows out to different networks, whether it’s free accessible channels or streaming services where they debut or get reruns.

Soaps have a lasting effect in terms of the money made. A production cast and crew feature a large value chain of more than 200,000 people, according to a report from the South African Film and Television Industry. Their contribution has been reported by the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) to have contributed positively to the GDP, rising year after year. The KZN film commission reported a R5.5bn in 2015 and R7.18bn before Covid-19 shook things up. This dropped to R4bn in the 2020/21 financial year.

This makes soaps vital as smaller seasonal shows of six to 12 episodes mean cast and crew are employed for short periods of time, while longer telenovelas and soaps which are constantly in production keep members of pre and post-production employed.

The Streetwise 5 of television

Canning these shows can be a big fumble, something TV critic Thinus Ferreira also finds will ultimately sabotage our TV makers.

“It feels as if South African television still needs to learn that just because some programmes have been running for a long time doesn’t mean you have to remove them. It actually makes them more respectable and that more people enjoy them,” he says, comparing it to a wise grandmother that needs love and attention rather than being discarded.

There’s such a shift on the continent and around the world, where content consumption is concerned. I think the days of people sitting and waiting for 7 seven o’clock for their favourite soapies are gone.

—  Carlynn de Waal-Smit, national secretary for SA Guild of Actors

As a great soapie and telenovela exodus booms, Ferreira suggests it is important to look for solutions for the problems rather than scrapping the productions entirely. This could be through refreshing the cast or exploring different spaces that the production is set in. Fresh new talent can often result in much more affordable labour, he says as an example.

Noting that the case of 7de Laan is bizarre considering it’s one of the top-performing shows, Ferreira says there is clearly a bigger problem if it can’t be kept on air.

“Shows like Uzalo, Skeem Saam, or Generations are like a Big Mac or Streetwise 5. It’s one of your most popular big sellers and if you are telling people you can’t sell your staple TV product then we should wonder if you should be in business in the first place,” he says.

While this might be an indication of consumption patterns changing in South Africa’s TV industry, Ferreira believes that telenovelas have been staple viewing for local audiences.

“There are all these unexpected things that happen like inflation, not having water and even the streets of Joburg exploding, but the one stable thing is that at eight o’clock I’m going to watch my Generations,” says Ferreira, “it’s a habitual and ritualistic thing that we all have.”

Ferreira also notes that audiences who have followed South Africa’s trajectory from the 80s were heavily influenced by the American boom that captured global audiences. With South African soaps screened in multiple countries, there is a lost potential for educating the world about our cultures.

What does it all mean for cast and crew? Nothing but anxiety

Founder member and national secretary for SA Guild of Actors Carlynn de Waal-Smit shared her views on the great soapie and telenovela exodus.

“There’s such a shift on the continent and around the world, where content consumption is concerned. I think the days of people sitting and waiting for seven o’clock for their favourite soapies are gone. It’s not happening any more. So much of how we watch and consume content has changed, and I’m not sure that many of the recipes that many of the broadcasters had in the past are relevant any more. So all of these decisions, to my understanding are driven by the bottom line.”

Waal-Smit says except for during the Covid-19 era, there’s never been a more anxious time in the SA film and TV-show making space.

“It leaves the industry quite anxious, specifically people who are in long-running or long form soaps or telenovelas. There never has been any security in it contractually because everybody only ever had a one-year contract and it would either get renewed or not. But people got used to that in most cases, it would get renewed, so that they had a sense of financial security. It was a false sense of security but they had it. Now, there’s more anxiety in the industry than we’ve ever had.”

Waal-Smit notes that streaming services such as Netflix and Showmax have played an influential role in disrupting set patterns of content consumption but adds it was always expected. She says the industry is constantly changing but that’s not the issue.

The issue, she explains, is that the lack of regulation and protection for creatives in the TV and film industry.

“We always adapt to the industry changes, that’s not the real problem. The issue here is deeper than that. People contributing to this multimillion industry are — even today — still not treated like employees. We have no bargaining right and no protection. Our industry is made up of freelancers. We don’t have anybody that is an employee. Even when you are on a long-form programme, you are still freelancing. We are on our own. So essentially the government cannot do anything to help because we are not covered by the labour laws of the country.”

She uses UIF as an example: “We don’t even qualify for UIF. If we could fix such things, there might be hope. There is just no regulation at the moment. In this industry, contracts are ‘just cancelled’. If there’s a dispute in the workplace, your only way out is to get a lawyer but not everyone can afford that route. Whereas if we had access to things like CCMA, we may have better chances of resolving such things fairly.”

Waal-Smit says SAGA continues to engage all relevant stakeholders in their fight for issues affecting people working in the industry. The organisation has been fighting since 2015 for the Copyright and Performance Protection Amendment Bill to be passed and ascended into law.