'Rockville' brings hope back to TV

ROCKVILLE - the drama mini-series created by Shona and Connie Ferguson has only been on TV a month, and its head writer Phathutshedzo Makwarela, thinks we’ll be worse off when it ends.

The 10 hour-long show, which premiered on June 19 and airs at 7.30pm on Wednesdays on Mzansi Magic, has caused quite a buzz with its star-studded cast and inviting storyline. Makwarela, who is also a storyliner for SABC 2 soapie Muvhango (he was also a writer on canned show The Wild on M-Net), thinks everything else on our screens is just plain ol’ formulaic.

In his own words: local TV content is sh*t. He’s currently enjoying British hit show Downton Abbey, and US series The Good Wife, Homeland and recently Game of Thrones, and even Dallas.

It may sound a tad peculiar for someone actively writing in the local industry; having also written for Zone 14, Tshisa, Moferefere Lenyalong and Skeem Saam (The 28-year-old Makwarela was born in the deep rural village of Mamvuka in Limpopo, and started out as a trainee under writer Gregg Latter at Soul City).

One thing that finds him leaning towards these US shows is because in the States, writers are “gods”, whereas locally producers – who are not primarily storytellers - get writers to execute their vision. Makwarela explains: “So you have disenfranchised writers writing shows that they don’t really like or believe in.

Here, writers have little control in the stories that they tell. It’s the way our industry is structured - if I took a concept to a broadcaster they are most likely not to commission me because they think I won’t be able to deliver it because I’m just a writer.”

The Fergusons, via their production company Ferguson Films, sought Makwarela to help develop the story and characters on Rockville after they had written an outline and story arc.

In an interview with The Star, Shona said Makwarela had a “brilliant and genius mind” and “understood what we wanted”. So they afforded him space and he roped in writing partner Gwydion Beynon - but he was particularly attracted to the story because it “pushed the boundaries of drama” and had the potential of several storylines per episode to keep if from lagging.

One of the most interesting aspects of the show is Connie’s transformation from the usual; the matriarch Marang in The Wild, and more popularly Karabo Moroka - the advertising industry mogul on Generations, to God-fearing working-class Mavis Mabaso.

Makwarela said: “We had a very frank conversation with Connie - we said: ‘South Africans are used to seeing you in one mould, so if we’re going to do this differently, they have to see you in a way that they have never seen you before’ and that’s how that character came about.”

He added: “She’s been acting for more than 25 years and was it easy? No, but that made it challenging. It’s amazing what she’s been able to do- viewers love that they have never seen her like this.”

He’s very frank in his assessments of the local TV industry too. We like making general entertainment; scripted shows that we want to be watched by everyone, which means “you compromise the DNA of your show because you don’t know who your target market is”. Stateside, advantageously, every cable network knows its audience and trusts its writers.

Rockville also features Bonnie Henna, Minnie Dlamini, Boity Thulo, Trevor Gumbi, Mbali Mlotshwa, Gail Nkoane and Shaleen Surtie-Richards.