Publications
Partners
- In May, e.tv will debut its first Afrikaans soap, Kelders van Geheime.
- The telenovela centres on three families who live on the wine farm, Soebatskloof.
- The show is filmed on location on a working wine farm in Simondium, between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek.
- "This new daily drama is a story for everyone. The focus of the show is on the farming community and the nature of wine farming," says head writer, Theltom Masimila.
e.tv's first Afrikaans soap, Kelders van Geheime, will debut in May and is filmed on location on a working wine farm in Simondium, between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek.
The Afrikaans telenovela, produced by KFilms, which e.tv will run on weekdays at 18:00 for at least 260 episodes, boasts multiple legendary Afrikaans soap actor names that are known from iconic Afrikaans TV soaps, from M-Net's Egoli and SABC2's 7de Laan to kykNET's Suidooster and Arendsvlei.
Kelders van Geheime revolves around three intertwined families: the Abrah, Sandy, and is the current housekeeper.
Veronique Jephtas (Arendsvlei) plays Sandy's eldest daughter, Debbie-Lee, and works with her mother, while Vashti Prins also left kykNET's Suidooster to join the new e.tv soap in the role of the youngest Syster daughter Shireen, a doctor in the Cape Winelands.
Theatre actor Dean Balie, who also appeared in kykNET's Nerens, Noord-Kaap and recently in Showmax's Spinners, plays Debbie-Lee's boyfriend.
The Marais family comprises Charl Marais Senior, portrayed by RSG presenter Nic de Jager, who had multiple TV roles, including in Egoli, and is now the Soebatskloof owner, with Sandra Prinsloo, who plays his second wife, Hermien Marais.
Brümilda van Rensburg, also from Egoli, who is known for her multiple roles, including in Binnelanders and High Rollers, shows up at the farm.
Geon Nel (Suidooster, Nerens, Noord-Kaap) plays Tjoppie Marais, Hermien's son from her first marriage, while David Chevers plays Charl Marais Junior, who lives in London.
Ashley de Lange plays Annette Fourie, living in Australia with her rugby player husband, Du Toit Fourie, portrayed by Zak Hendrikz (Binnelanders, 7de Laan). Another Egoli alum, Ilse Roos, plays Du Toit's mother, a Winelands social butterfly.
Theatre actor Rushney Ferguson is Tjoppie's wife, Veronique, and the farm's restaurant manager. Another Arendsvlei face, Angelo Johnson, portrays CJ, the couple's oldest child, a matriculant at Simonsvlei Gimnasium, with Angelo Bergh, who portrays their youngest child Marco, currently in Grade 11.
Marcel van Heerden (Suidooster) plays Rijk Nel, the Marais family's accountant, while Abduragman Adams (Suidooster) plays Dewald Piedt, the family's lawyer.
The restaurant's waiters are Tyral-Lee Miggels as Mercy, Karli Heine as Gabby, Ben Albertyn as Jason and Robert Hindley as Armand.
Jurgen McEwan (Arendsvlei, Spinners) plays Stil Piet - one of the workers on the farm, alongside Lorenzo Syster as Bismarck, Ivan Abrahams as Napoleon and Jason van Wyk as Nicodemus.
'Huge demand for Afrikaans content'
Kelders van Geheime is produced by former kykNET boss Karen Meiring under her KFilms banner based in Stellenbosch, with former Arendsvlei head writer Theltom Masimila also serving as head writer for the telenovela.
"The eMedia dubbed Afrikaans content has been very well received by a wide variety of audiences across South Africa, and we are excited to be able to offer our audience something authentically South African that they can relate [to] and resonate with," says Helga Palmer, e.tv's head of content development.
She adds:
According to e.tv, Kelders van Geheime will "bring fresh faces, new talent, and a different world that has never been explored in our local daily dramas. We look forward to offering our beloved audience something new and exciting to look forward to".
Vuyelwa Booi, e.tv's head of local programming, noting the SABC's marginalisation of Afrikaans since the start of March, says: "In the last few weeks the offering to lovers of Afrikaans has been drastically reduced – and this has strengthened the opportunity that we identified early on last year".
"e.tv is proud to add a truly South African daily drama to its showcase – and to offer Afrikaans viewers a home."
Karen Meiring adds: "We are excited to bring 'lekker' stories to the very loyal Afrikaans audience".
Theltom Masimila says: "Karen and I are passionate about bringing audiences full access to locally produced Afrikaans content – and e.tv has now made it possible. This new daily drama is a story for everyone. The focus of the show is on the farming community and the nature of wine farming – and is filmed on an existing working farm where things get really hot, literally and figuratively speaking."
