No bed of roses for axed soapie…

Published Mar 23, 2015

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A few months shy of 11 years on air, kykNET’s Villa Rosa has been canned. This comes just after the soap secured five nods for the Royalty Soapie Awards. Debashine Thangevelo reports

 

SHOCK, horror, gasp! This was a reasonable enough reaction from fans, cast and crew upon hearing that Villa Rosa was ending.

Then again, such is the nature of the beast in the TV industry.

While the end of some shows are celebrated à la Passions – others aren’t. In fact, the grieving process of fans can be agonisingly long. To date, fans loyal to the old Generations have found every excuse in the book not to watch the revamped Generations – The Legacy.

A similar state of gloom descended with the ending of M-Net’s Egoli – although, to be fair, it enjoyed a good run. The same couldn’t be said of its ground-breaking replacement, The Wild, which I believe in some way inspired the plethora of telenovelas that are being shot on location instead of in the confines of a set.

Why end Villa Rosa? And why now?

Karen Meiring, M-Net Director: Afrikaans Channels, enlightens: “Research has shown that Villa Rosa has reached its full potential. With its cancellation, we are making space for a new and exciting soap… of which more information will be made public soon.

“The first episode aired on October 4, 2004. It has been on air for 11 years. It has attracted the cream of South African actors like Lieb Bester, Antoinette Kellermann, Shaleen Surtie-Richards and Elize Cawood.”

While Villa Rosa has just over a week on air, there is some comfort in the fact that the soap secured five nods at the second Royalty Soapie Awards, which will be held at the ICC in Durban on Saturday.

It’s up for Outstanding Male Villain (André Lotter as Liam le Roux), Outstanding Female Villain (Therese Benadé as Astrid Wentzel), Outstanding Supporting Actress (Dorette Potgieter as Wanda), People’s Choice Award and Outstanding Soapie (in the Creative Awards category).

Meiring comments: “We are proud that Villa Rosa will be ending on such high notes. The characters of the Villa have become beloved family members in the homes of our viewers.”

With this being the final curtain call for the soapie, she reveals that there is an hour-long special planned to give fans some closure.

Shedding light on the status quo of Villa Rosa’s successor, she reveals: “The new soap is still in early development.”

While Meiring wasn’t at liberty to confirm if any of the actors will be crossing over into other shows or the new soap, she informs: “The actors are very talented. We are sure to see Villa faces in our upcoming shows.”

 

FINAL WORDS

 

MARCUS MULLER– Stef Retief: I am very sad to bid farewell to my fellow Villa family, but I am very grateful to have spent so much time with such a great team. I want to thank our producer and my good friend, Johan van de Vyver, for trusting in me and giving me the opportunity to live out my passion. All the cast and crew will always have a special place in my heart.

It was also a great blessing to have shared the set with so many of our industries’ legends and to have learnt so much from them and gained experience.

 

LIEB BESTER– Prof Fritz Retief: It was a huge shock to hear that Villa Rosa is coming to an end. It feels like a death in the family, as it became our home after 10 years and you shared most of your life with fellow cast and crew members. The only two cast members from the original group of cast to remain ever since the first episode was recorded on August 29, 2004 is myself and Jaco Vermeulen, and that in itself shows how much I loved being there.

I thank Johan van de Vyver and everyone involved, from the technical side to the viewer. It has been a privilege!

 

JACO VERMEULEN– Marius Schoeman: Wow, there are so many great memories that I will take with me. I value all the friendships I have formed over the years. It was a shock when they announced the end of Villa Rosa, no one expected it.

 

ELSJE SLABBERT– Carina Rautenbach: It was a huge shock, I never saw it coming. It is sad. I will miss the place, the people and the atmosphere a lot. We all face a scary period, knowing that we are all jobless soon, but I believe that change is good and with the one door being closed, another opens.

 

• Villa Rosa will continue on kykNET in its 6.30pm slot, Monday to Thursday, until March 31.

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