by Thinus Ferreira
kykNET has commissioned a new 17-episode Afrikaans drama series entitled Fraksie which will start on kykNET (DStv 144) on Tuesday 13 September at 20:00 revolving around the people involved at a tech company and yearning for second chances in life.
Produced by XXXXX, Fraksie tells of a tech company creating QPI (Quick Payment Interface), with the first 8 episodes following its creation, and the latter 9 episodes focused on the development of the company and the people involved.
Fraksie is from writers and
producers Louis Pretorius and Albert Snyman who have done series like Die Boekklub, Troukoors and Fynskrif for kykNET and MultiChoice's Showmax video streaming service, wit the cast including actors Edwin
van der Walt, Marlo Minnaar, Ilse Klink, Crystal Donna Roberts and Daneel van
der Walt.
"The series is darker that our previous work and there are times that it
is difficult to like some of the characters, but I hope that viewers will in
the end grow to love them," says Louis Pretorius in a show announcement general statement.
"The series is set in Stellenbosch, a town known for
its history and old money and for the last couple of years as the tech capital
of South Africa."
Schalk Smit, played by Edwin van der Walt, is an investment manager
with dreams of becoming a dollar millionaire. He is married to Nina (Roeline
Daneel) whose mother, Deidré (Hélène Truter), comes from "old money".
Nina's
father, Willem (André Jacobs), is an oncologist and her sister, Bianca (Daneel
van der Walt), is an anaesthetist. Zac (Alex van Dyk) and Mari (Jana Malan) are
Schalk and Nina's teenage children.
Tim (Marlo Minnaar) is a computer science lecturer in Pretoria who developed QPI and
recently married Chantel (Crystal Donna Roberts). Jana (Trix Viviers) is a commercial lawyer and went to school with
Schalk and Tim. She moved to Stellenbosch six months earlier leaving behind her
husband, Alwyn (Sean Marco Vorster), and daugter, Emmy (Izebella Louw).
In
Stellenbosch she meets Jack (Duane Williams), who causes problems in her and
Alwyn's marriage.
Melt Sieberhagen is Henk, Schalk's boss, and Brendon Daniels is
Donovan, an events planner and Henk's housemate.
Ilse Klink is Judy, Chantal’s
mother, and Gerwen Simon is Anél, her sister. Also in the cast is Natalia Da
Rocha as Jack’s grandmother, Lee-Ann van Rooi and Pierre van Pletzen as Schalk's
boss at T&M Holdings and Hendrik Nieuwoudt as Henk's son, JP.
"Apart from the storyline around Schalk, we also look at
second chances, children and their relationships with their parents and the
challenges that marriages bring," says Louis Pretorius.
