1 minute read
Making Hermanus famous again
By Hélène Truter
Finally! After four years of negotiations, the third series of Swartwater will hit our TV screens on Tuesday 19 January on SABC 2 (DSTV 192) at 19:30. If you've missed the first episode, you can catch it on Youtube in two weeks’ time.
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The first series of Swartwater (2013) made a clean sweep at the SAFTAs, winning seven awards including best TV series. Swartwater is a fictitious coastal village in the Overberg. The series follows the lives of a Johannesburg couple who move to Swartwater, after the main character accidentally shoots and kills his baby son. Since I live here, it was only natural that I write a TV series based in Hermanus, dealing with local issues. After 52 episodes (series 1 and 2) I was done, satisfied that the story had come full circle. And I moved on to other projects.
However, the viewers weren't done – not by a long shot – and a third series was commissioned.
Sandra Vaughan (Kleinmond resident and writer of the blockbuster Semi-Soet) and I started writing Swartwater 3 just before lockdown, and as the pandemic intensified I had to constantly rewrite and adapt, keeping in mind that we would have to film passionate love scenes while adhering to strict Covid protocols. Interesting challenge indeed. Since I'd been on the writing team of Inconceivable (currently available on Showmax) which had to completely stop production during lockdown, I was well aware of the risks. We were determined to come up with a great story in spite of Covid. 'n Boer maak 'n plan.
Click below to read more. (The full article can be found on page 4)