7 June, 2017 - 08:39
Afrikaans soapie Suidooster, which airs on kykNET, is fast becoming one of the most popular programmes on South African TV. That's according to the producers of the first Afrikaans soap to be filmed in Cape Town. By Robin Adams
They're keeping the audience numbers to themselves, because the Afrikaans channel they air on does not publish ratings figures from audience measurement surveys. But the Suidooster makers claim the show has more viewers than Binnelanders, which airs on the same channel.
Bradley Joshua, Suidooster executive producer, says the authentic story lines make the show so popular.
It represents real life and also represents our demographic in a more truthful manner, not in what is believed to be stereotypical of coloured people. We developed it around people we know and people in our own families.
For a long time, coloured people have always been depicted as the help, or the workers, and we wanted to flip that around because in our particular families (on the show) coloured people are professionals, they are business owners, and we wanted to do something that is more reflective of today.
Suidooster is set in the imaginary suburb of Ruiterbosch, but in truth Ruiterbosch is actually the old Makro building in Montague Gardens, which has been converted into film studios.
Suidooster has a star-studded cast which includes the likes of father and daughter acting duo Cedwyn and Portia Joel - best remembered for their roles in Generations.
Of course no soap would be complete without a villain, a Stefano Dimera type character. And Suidooster's bad boy is a gentleman by the name of Ian October, played by Abduraghmaan Adams. October is a shrewd businessman who'll crush anyone standing in his way.
Producers describe him as the man viewers love to hate .
Adams tells Weekend Argus he is nothing like his character.
What can I say? Ian October is what I would call a dog. The man loves money more than he loves anything else. Ian is full of himself. We are very different. I could easily be called one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, laughs Adams.
The 47-year old Adams grew up in Manenberg.
I think the place where I stem from has shaped me. And that stereotype that we all seem to give too much power to, that townships are synonymous with gangs and all other social evils. Yes and no!
I think there's a lot of us, especially in the entertainment industry, who come from disadvantaged communities and we have been able to break through that mould. And that for me, as a 40-plus actor, is important. That the youth specifically should latch on to that part of me - where I come from and the struggles I endured.
Adams has been around since the start of the show in 2015.
At the beginning we were all a bit nervous in terms of how people will receive it (the show), but people have been waiting for this, to hear the diversity in tongues,.. linguistically, that is exactly what Suidooster brought.
While there can be no doubt about the popularity of Adams's character October, Suidooster producers are all in agreement that Mymoena Samsodien is the one stealing the hearts of viewers.
Samsodien is a Muslim mother of twin sons in their 20s and a daughter, also 20-something, who she gave up for adoption at a young age.
Advertisement
The role of Samsodien is played by Jill Levenberg, who says she and her character have many similarities. Mymoena is accessible, She's friendly, she's caring, she is an activist in her own little way. She's got endearing qualities, which make her human, says Levenberg.
She is a mother who will fight for her family, and who fights for her community. She is one of those mothers, and I think it is especially important now (in light of the child murders) your child is my child. She is just this loveable, earth mother kind of character.
Levenberg is regularly approached by fans in public.
It's a wonderful feeling when people come up to me and say they enjoy Mymoena and they enjoy the soap. We work hard, I put my heart and soul into the character, and to know that people enjoy the work and that the work resonates with them, is fulfilling for me.
KykNET publicist Wilmer Muller says the film industry in the Mother City is taking off in a big way.
If you look at the amount of TV being produced in Cape Town, it shows the Cape is becoming a choice for TV, he says proudly.
Suidooster's path to air is a unique and inspiring story.
It was early in 2015 when producers pitched the show to kykNET. In April they got a pilot programme together. KykNET bosses loved it and gave the go-ahead for filming in June. Just five and a half months later, Suidooster was on South African TVscreens - three times weekly. (Monday to Wednesday)
But such was the interest in the newest Afrikaans soapie, the public demanded more, because the wait from Wednesday night to the next on air slot on a Monday, was just too long. And in July Suidooster added a Thursday night show.
Currently there are talks under way about making it a Monday to Friday affair.
Sundays are omnibus days in Suidooster country. Addicts are able to get their fix from 2pm and catch up with the entire week's episodes.
The actors and production crew's workdays start very early. They're on set at 7.30am and film till around 7.30pm.
Adams finds it all incredibly thrilling, saying: The best thing about coming to work here is that we are a family. And that we share one another's challenges, but I think also personally.
I have been on many sets before, you come in, you do your job, you go (home). Suidooster is entirely different.
Suidooster airs at 6pm on kykNET (DStv channel 144) with repeats at 8pm on kykNET&Kie (channel 145) and again at 10.30pm on kykNET. The show is also available on the DStv Now app.
www.iol.
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
21/10/2025
As Amazon's Prime Video prepares to launch its coverage of NBA basketball under a major new deal, Grup Mediapro has announced that it is working with the st...
21/10/2025
ATLANTA Good news for consumers using an Atlanta DTH receiver to watch ATSC 3.0: with a new software update, they will be able to blanket their homes with Wi-Fi...
21/10/2025
While recent news has been heavily focused on Hispanic migration into the U.S., The 2025 Hispanic Market Report from Claritas highlights the fact that this gr...
21/10/2025
MAIDENHEAD, UK RWS has hired Michael Wayne as its head of media and entertainment in Los Angeles where he will lead the company's media localization busines...
21/10/2025
Imagine Communications and Rohde & Schwarz today announced a definitive agreement under which Imagine will acquire Pixel Power Limited, a wholly owned subsidiar...
21/10/2025
Atlanta DTH (ADTH) today announced a major update that will expand the functionality of its NEXTGEN TV receiver by enabling gateway capabilities allowing viewer...
21/10/2025
Heartland Video Systems, Inc. (HVS), a premier video systems integration, consulting, and expert ATSC 3.0 implementation firm announces that it has partnered wi...
21/10/2025
QuickLink, the leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest integration solutions, today announced the appointment of Austin Hinton as it...
21/10/2025
nternet connectivity startup Miri Technologies Inc. will use this week's NAB Show New York as the launch pad for its latest ground-breaking innovation, the ...
20/10/2025
Inside TAMS: How Time-Addressable Media Stores could redefine sports workflows By Paul Markham
Friday, October 17, 2025 - 08:57
Print This Story
A penalty...
20/10/2025
Transformational production: Inside TVN's remote production push for the DFL...
20/10/2025
How NBC Sports Transitioned Stamford Facility to One Format: 1080p HDRMulti-year plan harmonizes workflows, simplifies operationsBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial ...
20/10/2025
NBA on NBC' Studio Production Team Is Ready for Tip-Off With Coast-to-Coast...
20/10/2025
Under pressure: TVN CEO Markus Osthaus considers the German sports broadcasting ...
20/10/2025
(L-R) Maria Dizzia, Carmen Emmi, and Russell Tovey attend the Plainclothes pre...
20/10/2025
In March, we launched Concerts Near You to help listeners find concerts from their favorite artists. Since then, more than 3 million people have used it to disc...
20/10/2025
Em diversas cidades do Brasil, um movimento tem se fortalecido para celebrar o poder, a beleza e a profundidade da criatividade negra. O Dia AMPLIFIKA, agora em...
20/10/2025
In cities across Brazil, a movement is growing that celebrates the power, beauty, and depth of Black creativity. AMPLIFIKA Day, now in its fifth edition, return...
20/10/2025
Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft rendering...
20/10/2025
DENVER and MUNICH Imagine Communications today announced its plans to acquire Pixel Power Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Rohde & Schwarz. Financial terms of...
20/10/2025
LOS ANGELES G Morgan has joined Globecast, a provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, as executive vice president of sales, Globecast Am...
20/10/2025
PLYMOUTH, Wisc. Heartland Video Systems and Zixi have partnered to enable broadcast-quality live video delivery over any IP network....
20/10/2025
A. R. Rahman on Facing Fear and Finding the Divine In an interview with Berklee President Jim Lucchese, the Oscar-winning composer reflects on how courage and...
20/10/2025
Monday 20 October 2025
To view this content, please enable our use of cookies. ...
20/10/2025
Rohde & Schwarz transfers Pixel Power to Imagine Communications Companies work collaboratively to ensure continuity and ongoing support for existing customers...
20/10/2025
RT 's Prime Time is set to host the final Presidential Election Debate this Tuesday night, October 21, providing an opportunity to hear directly from Irelan...
20/10/2025
NVIDIA and Google Cloud are expanding access to accelerated computing to transform the full spectrum of enterprise workloads, from visual computing to agentic a...
19/10/2025
Back to All News
Sins of Kujo' Comes to Life in New Live-Action Series Set for Spring 2026
Entertainment
19 October 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied to cl...
18/10/2025
New England Sports Network (NESN) has chosen Harmonic, working with Astound Business Solutions, as its enterprise technology partner to transform primary distri...
18/10/2025
NEW ORLEANS, La. In the run-up to the start of the NBA season, WVUE-TV and Gray Local Media have announced a deal with DirecTV that will greatly expand access t...
18/10/2025
Berklee Celebrates 40 Years of the Fall Together Concert Faculty composers Bob Pilkington and Greg Hopkins are among the featured artists for this year's ...
17/10/2025
NEP Group Receives New Equity Investment From 26North Partners LP, Co-InvestorsCarlyle remains the largest shareholder as the company prepares for the futureBy ...
17/10/2025
Apple Lands Five-Year Deal for F1 Distribution in the U.S.Besides airing on Apple TV, the sport will be amplified on other Apple servicesBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Ed...
17/10/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Marshall Electronics' Bernie Keach on the Future of PTZ Camera...
17/10/2025
L2 Productions' REMI Facility in Austin Can Produce Content From AnywhereMusic festivals, sports events are produced via flypacks and remote control roomsBy...
17/10/2025
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
17/10/2025
(L-R) Christopher Meyer, Addison Timlin, Cooper Raiff, Lili Reinhart, Alyah Chan...
17/10/2025
M sica e arte se uniram em uma noite especial na semana passada na ZIV Gallery, ...
17/10/2025
Music and art came together for one special night last week at ZIV Gallery, an i...
17/10/2025
Spotify and FC Barcelona are extending our partnership through 2030, continuing a collaboration that's redefining how fans, players, and artists connect. Th...
17/10/2025
MURRIETA, Calif. The Sports Fishing Championship (SFC) has deployed DigitalGlue's creative.space storage platform to streamline video production by centrali...
17/10/2025
BELLEVUE, Wash. Football continued to cement its reputation as a bulwark of TV advertising in Q3 2025 with new data from iSpot that showed both the NFL and coll...
17/10/2025
The Sports Fishing Championship (SFC), the premier competitive saltwater fishing series, has transformed its production workflow by adopting creative.space, the...
17/10/2025
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning multi-camera video productions and remote contribution solutions, announces the release of StudioPro Version 4, ...
17/10/2025
Although the annual Grammy Awards celebration is best known for recognizing achievements in the recording industry, the show often proves a visual spectacle as ...
17/10/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leading provider of software-defined data storage and data services, has promoted Alex Dunfey to Chief Technology Officer (CTO) from his for...
17/10/2025
The University of Arizona (UofA) has significantly upgraded its broadcast communication infrastructure with the integration of Riedel Communications' advanc...
17/10/2025
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that New England Sports Network (NESN), owned by Fenway Sports Group and Delaware North, has selected Harmonic as its en...
7 June, 2017 - 08:39 
