In an extremely shocking, highly embarrassing and dramatic bait-and-switch exercise with no announcement, advisory, press statement, explanation, answers or any information to the South African press and TV critics either before it happened on-air (I asked) or since, SABC3 and the production company behind The Dr. Mol Show suddenly has Riaad Moosa in as the new doctor and Michael Mol gone, for the show which is now in fact called Doctor's Orders.
Even stranger: SABC3 is still calling it The Dr. Mol Show on all schedules for two weeks now. Although Michael Mol is completely and inexplicably gone and with no explanation whatsoever to me as to why he suddenly left or where he went, there is no "Dr Mol" anymore on The Dr. Mol Show.
On 4 April TV with Thinus reported of dramatic going-ons behind the scenes of The Dr Mol Show on SABC3.
At that time I was told that Michael Mol has informed the crew that week that he is leaving the show. Although the news to me came from highly credible sources, I did not report that at the time - the news seemed that incredulous. I wanted more facts and verification, although my sources on record were already sterling.
I immediately reached out to the production, the SABC, as well as SABC3 as well as people directly involved with the show. I asked repeatedly and made multiple media enquiries.
I asked specific questions and asked specifically for clarity and relayed exactly what I was told and whether anything is true and accurate. I phoned. I phoned again. Several people from several places told me I would get answers and that they would respond. Several people said there isn't news but that relevant information would be communicated should there be anything.
Now - shockingly - The Dr. Mol Show has indeed morphed into Doctor's Orders with Riaad Moosa, yet there has been no word to the press or to me from the production company, no word from the SABC or SABC3 or any PR company, no official publicity photo of Riaad Moosa issued for what is essentially a "new" show, and no clear explanation of where Michael Mol suddenly went and why he upped and left The Dr. Mol Show in the middle of the 5th season.
Equally embarrassing for everyone involved - including all TV critics and editor's in South Africa - is that the show is still called The Dr. Mol Show on SABC3's schedules in printed newspapers and magazines in South Africa although ...
... when viewers tuned in since 17 May they've actually been seeing not Michael Mol and not the The Dr. Mol Show. There is no more "Dr Mol" on TV, just as if Dr. Phil suddenly took over Dr. Oz but kept calling it Dr. Oz. Did anyone even pick up the change?
Michael Mol suddenly gone from The Dr. Mol Show marks yet another extremely high-profile South African TV personality suddenly gone from South African television screens in a jarring way this year. The show joins 3rd Degree which abrupty ended when Debora Patta last month unexpectedly announced it will no longer continue and Vuyo Mbuli who died last month and was the co-anchor on Morning Live on SABC2.
I again reached out today to almost everyone involved with this show. Why the abrupt changes? Why the complete lack of transparency in my opinion and the eye-popping lack of communication? Why exactly did Michael Mol leave and so suddenly and not when the season ended? Why is the show still called The Dr. Mol Show on paper?
Here is what I've been told - and in the total absence of any responses to my multiple media enquiries since April, it is all that I have to go on for now. If there are any responses from anybody working in media involved with this issue (where it is ironically all about communicating and communication) I will of course bring those answers.
I'm told by sources that The Dr. Mol Show (which I've always liked and which was good local television) can't officially be changed to Doctor's Orders because Michael Mol left from episode 19 of 26 and the show which has been sold to advertisers as such has to be called that by the SABC's advertising sales arm and programming, until the end of the fifth season's run.
Why did Michael Mol leave? I'm only given a vague "to pursue other business interest" - no real specific reason. I'm also told he has mobile clinics and are focusing on those according to a source. I don't have anything more specific than that.
In the meantime it remains very strange for an on-air personality whose name is attached to a specific show to suddenly not be seen on-air midway through its run - but for the show to continue on as half of a new thing, and half of what it was.
Why is the SABC and SABC3 and the production - none of them officially communicating to the press, not talking or even answering the most basic questions I had in media enquiries? They have a responsibility to the ordinary viewer who watches, who is perplexed and who wants to know: Where did Michael Mol go? Why did The Dr. Mol Show change? Hello? Doctor?
How bad is it to suddenly change the main presenter of a show named after the person, not change the name of the programme on the actual schedules of a TV channel, and then not even answering questions or providing basic details as to why it happened to the press?
