A new South African TV show takes an irreverent and satirical look at the country’s coloured community.
Brand Bernie Productions, Bonngoe Productions and Jungle Works are the producers on Colour TV, a 13-part series which broadcasts on SABC2 from 8 July.
Executive producer Levern Engel of Jungle Works explains that the concept for the show evolved two years ago. “The idea was developed by Bernhard (Bernie) Baatjies who originally suggested a concept called CNN (Coloured News Network). He saw a niche in TV content that would talk directly to the nation with a coloured voice. After months of research Bernie discovered that storytelling (and comedy) was the one thread that really unified the community. The idea of a make-believe television network, run by the coloured community, was born.’
It was Engel and a group of talented actors who created the framework for the series. Says producer Kathryn Matulovich: “They sat down and applied themselves to something they considered to be fun, fresh and an opportunity for voices that have not been heard before to be heard. It is one of the largest collaborative projects we have undertaken for a while.’
Colour TV aims to create a platform for South Africans to laugh at themselves. “It invites viewers to laugh along at a demographic that is comfortable about exploiting their own idiosyncrasies in a light-hearted way to bridge a socio-political divide.’
This type of project has never been commissioned by public service broadcaster SABC before. Engel explains: “Their response from the start was very positive. The SABC is very proud to be able to give Colour TV a platform to talk directly to a broad South African audience. After all, the coloured community makes up 9.1 % of the South African population.’
Developing the show
Once the show’s format was locked down, Engel and her team spent over three months in research and content development. Many content ideas were rooted in the personal experiences of the team. Scripts were workshopped to ensure a balance between storytelling and comedy. The cast was carefully chosen to bring the series to life.
According to Engel, the production schedule involved shooting 13 different segments of the show. “These were shot over eight weeks in studios and locations in and around Johannesburg and the Western Cape.’
Colour TV was shot on a variety of different digital formats. Engel continues: “We shot on Digibeta in studios to accommodate the chroma key and used the digital HD camera card on the Panasonic AF101 to acquire the necessary depth of field on location. Each segment is shot to reflect the specific genre.’
Matulovich believes that the South African audience will respond extremely well to the series. “I think they will find it a refreshing offering for Friday night viewing. Given the format of the show there is a little bit of everything for everyone.’
