Afrikaans soapie Villa Rosa gets the boot

The soap often kicks dust in the face of Binnelanders, another of the channel’s soaps, in terms of total viewers, making the cancellation seem a bit odd. The news of the cancellation of the soap broke on Wednesday afternoon to its crew and cast members. Some where said to be bomb-shocked when the news broke, with a few allegedly saying it was completely unexpected.

The Citizen has it on good authority from a crew member and one of the cast members that the soap will stop production in June, with the final episode expected to air at the end of March 2016.

Neither kykNET or Mnet has given clear reasons why the soap has been cancelled, considering it being a ratings bonanza for the Afrikaans television channel. In fact, there seems to be a loyal following with viewers fluctuating between 400 000 and over 500 000 (at least the ratings The Citizen could track down).

Not shabby, considering DStv have a subscriber base for all its bouquet offerings of just over 5 million – essentially meaning around 10 percent of subscribers tune in to the soap. That means the popular Bobby van Jaarsveld soon-to-be-aired stint on the show wasn’t a ratings grab or a means to save the show. While breaking the news to the 65 people involved with the production (including the cast), there was no clear indication on what show will replace Villa

Rosa, but the cast and crew were told a new soap is possibly in the works, and they were encouraged to apply for jobs when this was decided.

Villa Rosa has had a number of South African soap royalty on the show, including former Generations actor Roderick Jafta, Egoli‘s Sharleen Surtie-Richards and Lieb Bester.