by Thinus Ferreira
The cast and crew of SABC2's 7de Laan haven't been
able to buy food or pay for basic necessities for months since it wrapped
filming of its last episodes in early August, with the show that confirmed that
the public broadcaster has so far failed to sign a new contract, similar to Muvhango that remains in limbo.
Insiders at Danie Odendaal Productions are now
speaking out about the dire financial circumstances they are finding themselves
in since the SABC have so far failed to renew the weekday soap's contract.
The SABC has also not renewed the contract for
SABC2's Venda weekday soap Muvhango, produced by Word of Mouth Productions.
Muvhango and 7de Laan are SABC2's biggest shows and the two most important pillars of its entire schedule, with Muvhango luring roughly 4 million viewers as SABC2's most-watched show, and with 7de Laan pulling just over a million viewers on an average weeknight.
According to 7de Laan, the Danie Odendaal
Productions series has never had to wait so long for the SABC to renew and to
sign a new contract.
Meanwhile, the lights are switched off at the
studio sets of 7de Laan at Sasani Studios in Highlands North in Johannesburg,
although the broadcaster still has to pay for hiring the unused studio space.
Another issue is that cast members and crew
desperate to earn money to survive might be lost to the show and to the SABC
when they jump to new opportunities for work and to earn an income at series on
other channels like e.tv or MultiChoice and its M-Net, kykNET and Mzansi Magic
channels.
The SABC has enough completed 7de Laan episodes to
broadcast on SABC2 until December but crew and cast members who worked on the
show won't be able to go for 4 months – a third of a year – without earning any
money.
"The SABC has not yet contracted the
production to film season 23," Danie Odendaal Productions told TVwithThinus on Friday in response to a media query.
"7de Laan under Danie Odendaal Productions,
signs a contract that runs annually from mid-August to mid-August the following
year. All the cast and crew have been paid up to the end of the season 22
contractual period which has since lapsed."
"The production can also confirm that it
is in discussion with the SABC with regards to contracting season 23, however
no definitive timelines have been established to start the production of season
23."
Kayleen Bessit, 7de Laan publicist, confirmed to TVwithThinus that the last episode for season 22 was filmed on 6 August.
Asked if
it's correct that the process for renewal and a new contract has never taken
this long, she said that "the process usually doesn't take this long but we are
still negotiating with the SABC".
The SABC was asked for comment on Friday which will
be added here if received and why 7de Laan's contract similar to Muvhango's
contract hasn't been renewed.
UPDATE Saturday 16 October 2021 12:20: Gugu Ntuli, the SABC's group executive for corporate affairs
and marketing, says "The SABC can confirm that 7de Laan is
recommossioned and at this stage all the processes pertaining to the
finalisation of the recommission of the show are being finalised accordingly".
