by Thinus Ferreira
On Sunday night kykNET (DStv 144) will still announce the top 10 farmers who have been selected for the next season of its Afrikaans reality series Boer Soek 'n Vrou but the broadcast of the 13th season has become another victim of the Covid-19 pandemic and has been shifted to 2021.
On Sunday at 20:00 kykNET will announce the new 10 farmers from across South Africa who have been shortlisted to take part in the new season.
However, where a season is usually broadcast between October and January of the next year, the 13th season with new presenter Marciel Hopkins will only start on Thursday 21 January 2021 because of production and filming delays because of Covid-19. It will still consist out of the usual 13 episodes.
After Sunday night's broadcast "entries" will open for people to write to the farmers but here there will also be a change - with the show ditching the South African Post Office and with nobody allowed to send written letters or parcels any longer.
Because of Covid-19 it will now all have to be digital entries that can include a video.
"The safety of the participants and the production team is the priority and several strict measures have been put in place to ensure that," says Wilmer Müller, Boer Soek 'n Vrou publicist.
The 5 farmers who garner the most reaction and responses from viewers will undergo a love-seeking journey in the new season.
Marciel Hopkins says she's excited to introduce the new 10 farmers to the public.
"I've been looking forward for so long to the filming of the new season and I'm so thankful that the time has finally arrived to start with that."
"In uncertain times like now, Boer Soek 'n Vrou is a wonderful opportunity for singletons to meet someone new in person - something that they wouldn't have been able to do during lockdown regulations."