M-Net is done with the Afrikaans crime drama series Die Byl after six seasons, the last of which started on kykNET (DStv 144) last week.
The Cape Town set first season of Die Byl starring Waldemar Schultz as Colonel Piet van der Bijl - a detective specialising in serial killer cases - was first shown almost a decade ago in 2016 on kykNET and MultiChoice's video streaming service Showmax.
kykNET confirms Die Byl, inspired by the real-life South African detective Piet Byleveld and originally produced by Marche Media and later Wolflight Films, is done after this 6th season.
The confirmation from kykNET came on Friday afternoon in a press statement, the day after a pre-recorded insert was first broadcast on kykNET on Thursday night in the magazine show Bravo! in which Waldemar Shultz in a sit-down interview said Die Byl is finished.
"After six seasons, it's time to say goodbye. It was a very special experience. We didn't know back then that we, the cast, were joining a family that would work together for ten years. The people and the camaraderie will stay with me forever," says Waldemar Schultz in a prepared quote.
According to kykNET, Die Bylis the drama series with the most seasons in kykNET's history.
The 5th and 6th seasons of Die Byl were produced without Leon Kruger who used to be the head writer and Herman Binge, executive producer, who both died in
2021.
"Seasons 5 and 6 are our tributes to them. Also to our Dr Fritz, Eric Nobbs, who passed away in 2022. But I think it's a
good time to wrap up. I'm 10 years older now than when we started, and poor
Van der Bijl has been through so much violence, murder and tragedy in his long
career. Perhaps he'll welcome a bit of peace and quiet."
"I'm not so sure I want to say goodbye. Maybe I'm still
holding out hope for a feature film."
The rest of Die Byl cast includes Marvin-Lee Beukes, Lika Berning, Milan Murray and Amalia Uys.
Tyrone Keogh is the profiler Capt.
William Miller with Marcel van Heerden who joined from season 5 as pathologist Dr Anton Fourie.
Die Byl was written by Elmarie Botha, Berdene Burger and
Lorraine Burger with Berdene Burger, Liezl Spies and Nina Swart as directors, and cinematography by Jay Marais.
The
series was produced by Elmarie Botha for Wolflight Films.
The
second season of Die Byl which was produced in association with MultiChoice’s
video streaming service Showmax and that was already made available on it, will
start on kykNET (DStv 144) on Sunday, 5 January at 20:00. Projek Dina will
start on Tuesday 14 January, followed by the third season of Sara se Geheim
from Thursday 16 January at 20:00. Each season of the three series will have 13
episodes and be on air until early April 2020.
Die
Byl continues the story and investigations of Colonel Piet van der Bijl
(Waldemar Schultz), a detective who specialises in catching serial killers. Ellie Bonthuys (Barbara Marié Immelman) has bid her days as a sensationalist
journalist farewell, and is now a spokesperson for the South African police,
while the team’s offices, the interrogation room and the laboratory has
undergone a revamp.
Dr
Fritz Barnard (Eric Nobbs) has a new assistant, Dr. Shani van Rooi (Trudy van
Rooy), and Captain Lena Evans (Lika Berning) has gotten married and is now the
mother of a young boy. Carien van der Bijl (Rolanda Marais), Byl’s ex-wife,
also makes an unexpected appearance. In the second season of Die Byl, once more
there is a series of cases, one in every episode, which has to be solved, but
this time there are also a few narrative through-lines to keep viewers hooked. Byl gets emotionally and physically confronted, with increasing
frequency, when his team becomes the target of a series of inexplicable and
disturbing events.
Other well-known
faces who will feature in the second season of Die Byl include Wilhelm van der
Walt, Jody Abrahams, Marlo Minnaar, Jana Kruger, Geon Nel, Marius Weyers,
Stiaan Smith, Cintaine Schutte, De Klerk Oelofse, Illse Roos and Denise Newman.
More secrets with Sara A rebroadcast of the
second season of Sara se Geheim will start on kykNET&kie (DStv 145) on
Sunday 15 December at 20:00 with the third season, set in Athlone and
Durbanville in Cape Town once again returning to the life of Sara Abrahams
(June van Merch) who has been keeping a secret for decades in order to save the
life of her eldest son (Johan, or rather Johnny). At the end of the
second season Maggie accidentally shot her son Kelvin (Conway October), and not
long before that, Maggie and her sister Lizzie (Qanita Adams) discovered that
their mother Sara had been keeping a secret from them for years: Their brother,
Johnny (Dawid Minnaar), is alive. The third season will
continue where the second left off. Maggie’s ex, Ricky (Brendon Daniels), has
appeared and told her eldest son, Aiden (Marlo Minnar), that he is his real
father. In the new season Johnny keeps nagging with Sara to let him see his
birth certificate, but Sara knows that it is precisely that birth certificate,
which holds an even bigger secret.
Ebert (André Weideman) is in mourning over the death of his wife and
feels guilty that he assisted her in committing suicide – to such a degree that
he starts losing touch with reality. Aiden and Inge (Lize-Marié Richardson)
still have feelings for each other, despite the misgivings of their families.
But will Aiden be able to focus on a relationship, when his family is on the
brink of falling apart.
The third season will branch out to include Tant Marie’s (Margot Luyt)
farm in Stellenbosch, as well as to the Elgin valley for pastor Benjamin
(Keeno-Lee Hector) and Lizzie’s honeymoon. But will Lizzie be able to enjoy her
honeymoon when she finds out that her nephew has been shot? And will Sara
survive the news that her daughter shot her grandson? Now she is faced with a
massive dilemma – should she protect her child by helping her to hide or should
she hand her over to the police?
Other actors making an appearance include Ivan Zimmerman, Roeline
Daneel, Stian Bam and Monique Rockman.
Missing persons Projek Dina, produced by Penguin Films,revolves around the work of a
missing persons crime investigative unit in Cape Town. The rapid response task
force tries to curb the rapidly growing number of missing persons in South
Africa, which is fast becoming a nearly impossible task. Viewers will see how three detectives, specially selected by Brigadier
Patricia Dlomo, work days and sleepless nights to solve cases. Team leader,
Captain Deon Visagie (Tim Theron), is a strategist and sleuth by nature. He
obsesses over the smallest detail, but his capacity for reading people falls
miserably short. He has particular trouble with sergeant Lux Dladla’s (Chumani
Pan) approach to detective work, which relies strongly on intuition and the
ability to build and utilise a large network of contacts. The task force
enlists the help of ’n non-official informant, the talented and efficient hacker,
Charlene “Charlie” Botha (Kay Smith). However, even Charlie soon realises that
these cases place her in more danger than she ever could have expected. Deputy Officer Ronel
Oosthuizen (Chanelle de Jager) is the one that keeps the team together. She is
an honest, hard-working, family-oriented person, but certainly not one to be
trifled with. She doesn’t abide trivialities and often gets stuck in the middle
when Deon en Lux butt heads, but knows exactly how to handle them. She is also
the one that dubs the task team “Projek Dina”. Other actors in the
series are Lee-Ann van Rooi, Jana Kruger, Wilhelm van der Walt, Nadia
Valvekens, Pierre van Pletzen, Jane de Wet, Zenobia Kloppers, Crystal-Donna
Roberts, Christia Visser, Mila Guy, Neels van Jaarsveld, Paul du Toit, Trix
Viviers, Elsabé Daneel, Illse Roos and André Roothman. Former Hawks
investigator, Marcell van der Watt, as well as Nicky Rheeder and Bianca van
Aswegen from Missing Children SA, acted as consultants for the series. Projek
Dina is inspired by true stories and was developed from the combined knowledge
of Van der Watt, Rheeder and Van Aswegen.
The Afrikaans crime drama, Die Byl, seen on MultiChoice's video streaming service Showmax and kykNET (DStv 144) has been renewed for a 14-episode second season that will roll out from 2 July 2019.
The first season of Die Byl with Waldemar Schultz, Marvin-Lee Beukes, Lika Berning and Eric Nobbs was broadcast in 2016.
The second season ofDie Byl, produced by Marche Media, will still contain one case being solved per episode but also incorporate more different, additional storylines as well.
The second season of Die Byl will continue to revolve around Colonel Piet van der Bijl (Waldemar Schultz), a detective specialising in serial killer cases.
Juan Stuurman (Marvin Lee Beukes) who is also back, has resigned from the unit, Byl's relationship with Nicki (Milan Murray) is on the rocks but his relationship has improved with general Neels van As (Tertius Meintjes).
Ellie Bonthuys (Barbara Marié Immelman), once a journalist only looking for sensationalism, is now the police spokesperson, while dr Fritz Barnard (Eric Nobbs) has a new assistant, Dr. Shani van Rooi (Trudy van Rooy).
Captain Lena Evans (Lika Berning) got married and is the mother of a young son, while Carien van der Bijl (Rolanda Marais), Byl's ex-wife, is suddenly back on the scene.
Wilhelm van der Walt, Jody Abrahams, Marlo Minnaar, Jana Kruger, Geon Nel, Marius Weyers, Stiaan Smith, Cintaine Schutte, De Klerk Oelofse, Illse Roos and Denise Newman will make guest appearances in roles.
Die Byl was written by Leon Kruger, Hein Eksteen and Anton Treurnicht and the directors are Quentin Krog, Liezl Spies and Leon Kruger.
