On 2 July 2012 Villa Rosa, the Afrikaans language daily soap produced by Spectro Productions for South African pay-TV channel kykNET, broadcast its 1 500th episode.
Episode 1 first went on air on Monday 4 October 2004.
KykNET renews the Villa Rosa contract with Spectro Productions, which also produced Plek van die Vleisvreters and Stralejakkers, on an annual basis from August to July.
Villa Rosa was created by Johan van de Vyver in conjunction with Leon van Nierop, who wrote the first episode.
The story centres on a grand mansion in Bloemfontein – Villa Rosa – that was previously owned by the Rossouw family for more than a hundred years. It was initially bought by the Retief family who wanted a guesthouse and is now owned by a few shareholders. The plot involves drama, intrigue, family strife, backstabbing, a few ghost stories and a treasure hunt.
According to Spectro Productions the soap holds between 25% and 28% viewership share in its timeslot (6pm) and has an average viewership of about 190 000.
The producers believe that the soap has proved so popular among viewers because it keeps the storylines interesting and addresses real life issues. It also caters for all age groups and ensures that good Afrikaans moral values are reflected.
Villa Rosa is shot with a double-camera setup at Atlas Studios in Braamfonteinwerf, Johannesburg. One episode per day is recorded. There are occasional location shots but the soap is mostly shot in studio.
All in all about 57 people work on the production, including six storyliners and six freelance writers.
Villa Rosa goes out four nights a week on kykNET, Mondays to Thursdays at 6pm.
Screen Africa magazine – July 2012
