‘7de Laan’ will air its last episode on 26 December 2023. Image via Instagram (screenshot) @real7delaan
‘7de Laan’ production called to a rapid halt due to insufficient funds
The SABC 2 Afrikaans production, ‘7de Laan’ has suspended operations with immediate effect due to insufficient funds.
‘7de Laan’ will air its last episode on 26 December 2023. Image via Instagram (screenshot) @real7delaan
On 17 July, SABC 2’s Afrikaans soapie producers announced that 7de Laan will be coming to an end later this year after airing for 23 years. However, the show’s cast were recently served with a curve ball when it was announced that 7de Laan was suspended due to insufficient funds out of the blue.
‘7DE LAAN’ STOPS PRODUCTION ABRUPTLY
In a statement, the producers of the Danie Odendaal Productions’ show shared that 7de Laan will come to an end on 26 December after airing 24 seasons since its debut on 4 April 2000.
“It has been an honour and privilege to produce a show that has touched the lives of so many South Africans for over two decades. As we come to the end of this chapter, we express our heartfelt gratitude to the dedicated cast and crew who have poured their talent and passion into bringing the show to life,” the statement read.
ALSO READ: Soapie teasers: What’s happening in 7de Laan in September 2023?
However, it seems 7de Laan will be coming to an end sooner than expected as funds dry up. There has been an abrupt halt in production and fans might not get to see the show’s final episode, Cape Talk reported.
“With two months’ worth of episodes left to air, the show has no more money left to produce it. The SABC owed production a massive amount of money for quite a while. The staff was paid at the end of August but there’s no more money left to carry on,” journalist and TV critic Thinus Ferreira was quoted as saying.
‘THE DISRESPECT’: HOW THE SHOW’S CAST WERE INFORMED
Former 7de Laan actor Denver Vraagom, who played Sheldon, took to his social media page and shared how the cast members were informed about the current financial troubles and the halt in production.
“The disrespect! The way it’s done! Oh well,” he captioned a message from production which was sent to the 7de Laan cast on 2 September.
“This letter serves to inform you that management has made a decision to suspend all normal 7de Laan operations with immediate effect due to insufficient funds to maintain salaries and other operational requirements. The broadcaster has been struggling to make the necessary payments timely to the production and making it difficult to maintain the daily production requirements,” the letter read.
“You are not required to be at the production studios until further notice,” the letter read.
ALSO READ: 7de Laan live updates: Chris and Mariaan are relieved
