Latest news with #kykNET
IOL News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- IOL News
Diving deep into trauma: Beer Adriaanse unpacks his gripping role in 'Niggies'
Beer Adriaanse as Andre in the riveting Afrikaans drama, 'Niggies'. Image: Supplied Beer Adriaanse, one of the 'Niggies' lead stars, has been celebrating some major milestones recently. This week marks the 40th birthday of the Silwerskerm winner, a celebration that coincides with the conclusion of the debut season of the captivating kykNET series. The show has garnered a nationwide following since its premiere in March. The inaugural season of the Afrikaans show, which sees Adriaanse play Andre, a man who goes to extraordinary lengths as he seeks vengeance over the kidnapping and murder of his younger brother (portrayed by Janru Steenkamp), dropped its final episode on Tuesday, May 20. And while the actor has been earning legions of fans for his work on productions such as "Hotel" and 'Fynskrif', what makes this role even more special for him is that it's his first foray out of comedy. Beer Adriaanse in a scene from 'Niggies'. Image: Supplied 'I've mostly been in comedy projects or at least portrayed characters that lean towards comic relief, so this was virgin territory for me,' he admitted during an interview with 'Independent Media Lifestyle.' 'Niggies' is inspired by the harrowing case of cousins Issie Fourie and Petro Nel who were raped and shot dead in 1966 in an abandoned mine building outside Odendaalsrus in the Free State. This was after they disappeared after leaving to swim at the municipal pool. The series is directed by South African Film and Television Awards (Saftas) winner Jaco Bouwer, and the rest of the cast includes Carel Nel, Jacques Bessenger, Erica Wessels, Tinarie van Wyk Loots, Jane de Wet and Albert Pretorius. Apart from 'being moved' by the story, Adriaanse admitted that it was also the show's stars which drew him to this production. 'The cast are some of my favourite actors in the world, and I could feel that everyone on the team felt like we were trying to make something meaningful, which is usually what tips me over into joining a project.' As he attempted to step out of his comedy comfort zone, Adriaanse said that he understood the responsibility which came with such a role, due to the dark and sensitive themes which it explores. 'I've never been this deep into a true story and underestimated the weight and responsibility that brings to the process. I've also never had to play a father and found the young talent, and playing off of them, very refreshing. To see them grapple with the themes, just like I was, was very moving.' He was also excited to flex his acting muscles and slip into the skin of a character from previous decades. 'To be honest, the chance to play in the 60's was also an opportunity that doesn't come along often - it being very' expensive to recreate prior eras in South Africa " - so that also sweetened the deal. He added that other themes which drew him to 'Niggies' was 'the concept of the communal and familial confrontation of major trauma and how its end reverberates through time.' 'It's such a universal theme, especially in South Africa, where violence is always so palpable and near.' Adriaanse described his character as 'the worst example of youth interrupted.' 'Andre embodies the jovial boy he was, who would've grown into the much-loved life of the party but who must now struggle through not only the shame of that day but also the traumas of his country's violent nature as a policeman.' Beer Adriaanse in 'Niggies'. Image: Supplied. On the similarities and differences he shares with his character, he explained: 'From reading the texts and especially the 16-year-old Andre's storyline, I immediately understood his shame, that feeling of having disappointed someone, or even worse, having ruined their lives and not knowing how to fix it.' 'We're similar in that if something like this had to happen to me, I would've also not been able to let it go. "Like Andre, I also prefer to acknowledge the darkness in the world. It helps me to know it's there, but unlike him, I then actively seek out the light and choose to confide in other people, while he keeps it all in until it explodes.' He also believes that 'Niggies' has been such a hit because people from all walks of life are able to relate to it. 'I think that most people in South Africa carry so much more trauma than we think, that almost everybody can relate to Andre.' 'Even if you haven't felt violence yourself, you at least know someone who has. My best guess is that people see their own struggles mirrored in his desperate juggling act between holding it together or diving headfirst into the abyss.'
IOL News
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
‘Die Brug' returns with deeper emotions and more relatable stories
In 'Die Brug' contestants must collaborate to build a bridge and earn the chance to win R1 million. Image: Screenshot/X After a powerful first season that had many of us in tears (don't lie, you cried too), "Die Brug" is back on kykNET and this time, it's even more emotional, more intense and surprisingly more relatable. Season one taught us that this was never just about building a bridge - it was always a story about trust. But season two hits differently. It asks the big question: 'What makes you worthy?' A question not for the contestants but one for all of us at home. From the very first episode, which aired on Thursday, May 8, we're thrown straight into the chaos. There's no warm welcome. No chance to ease into things! The contestants arrive and immediately have to solve a puzzle just to get into the wooden house (the Hout Huis). And even that's a mess when they do finally open the door. What hooks you is the people. The contestants are from completely different backgrounds, and each one brings a raw story that slowly unravels as the show goes on. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ There's Melissa Klein, a budget manager from Pretoria, who immediately radiates mother energy, who served in the military for 13 years and now mentors young women. She's all strength and grace, trying to heal a broken relationship with her father while living her life with honesty and faith. Then there's Hannes Roodt, the bold, talkative entrepreneur from Benoni who's married with kids and believes in thinking big. Roodt doesn't shy away from manipulating people but it's not necessarily malicious, just part of the strategy, and part of the game. Hanri Ehlers from Delmas is another standout. Ehlers is a lawyer and farmer who has survived major life changes, from the Kalahari to the feed factory, from game ranger to cattle farmer. She's calm, smart, and sharp as ever. You know not to underestimate her. Then there's Hilana Marais, the art teacher from Gqeberha, who finds peace in the ocean and wilderness. She's a quiet fighter, searching for light and balance in her life and you can't help but root for her just based on her pure and innocent spirit that she radiates. 'Die Brug' is filmed in the breathtaking Outeniqua Mountains along the Garden Route, Image: X/Screenshot Jaco Davel brings a different kind of strength. A family man with a soft heart and a hardworking spirit, he's the guy who'll give away his last slice of bread. But this time, he's putting his family first. There's also Luwellen Marx, the construction manager from Mossel Bay, who is tough on the outside but deeply vulnerable inside. Marx struggled with trust and feelings of being unloved, and his honesty is disarming. And then there's Wilhrisca Brits, who shakes things up! Brits' an international model, motorsport journalist, and a single mother from Polokwane who isn't afraid to speak her mind. She's fierce, self-made, and out to prove that women like her don't just walk the runway they can build a damn bridge too. But don't be fooled; while each contestant has a touching story, not everyone is here just for the healing journey. The R1 million prize is real, and you can already spot who's eyeing the cash. Still, the beauty of "Die Brug" is that it forces everyone to work together, building something that might lead one of them to the prize, but only if the others believe they're worthy of it. The show's cinematography continues to be breathtaking. From the Oteniqua mountains, the sweeping drone shots, and the intimate interviews - there's a moment for every mood, with the sound and visuals always landing perfectly. But more than that, it's the storytelling. The raw emotion. Honesty. Just one episode in and I'm hooked again – not just by the drama, but by the humanity.
IOL News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
How News24's Twatterbaas Scandal Exposed the Moral Collapse of South African Journalism
By Sipho Tshabalala In any functioning democracy, the media holds an essential mandate, not merely to report, but to serve as a mirror to society, a check on power, and a forum for open discourse. When this role is compromised by selective outrage, double standards, or the manipulation of truth, public trust erodes. The recent exposé by News24 targeting the anonymous X (formerly Twitter) user known as @twatterbaas presents a troubling case of editorial overreach, moral contradiction, and institutional discomfort with dissent. News24's publication did not stop at critique. It exposed the user's full name, home address, family associations, and business details, a practice widely known as 'doxxing'. Presented as an act of investigative journalism, the article arguably crossed a line from public interest into personal targeting. The publication's intent seemed less about engaging with ideas and more about silencing a controversial voice by turning public scrutiny into a tool of pressure and intimidation. When public backlash mounted, assistant editor Pieter du Toit appeared on kykNET to defend the editorial decision. In a televised debate with lawyer Willie Spies, who represents @twatterbaas, du Toit focused on a specific tweet in which the user claimed that 'Black people are breeding themselves into poverty'. The tweet included a demographic graph illustrating the growth of South Africa's black population in contrast to stagnation among other racial groups. Du Toit dismissed the graphic outright: 'There's no source for this. This is fake. This is disinformation.' The dismissal carried weight, as it implied that not only was the content inaccurate, but that it was intentionally manipulative and racially inflammatory. But that's where the scandal deepened. Internet users quickly uncovered that the same graph had in fact been published by News24 itself in a 2017 article titled 'We're running out of whites', authored by Zinhle Maphumulo and Johan Eybers. The data, previously framed within demographic commentary by News24's own editorial team, had now been repackaged by a private citizen and was being publicly condemned by the same institution. This contradiction laid bare a troubling reality: if quoting the graph is racist, then by the publication's own logic, so too is having originally published it. Yet rather than addressing the inconsistency or issuing clarification, News24 quietly removed the graph from the original article, without editorial note or public acknowledgement. The only evidence of its prior existence remained in an archived version retrieved via the Wayback Machine. The deletion, and the silence that followed, raises urgent questions about editorial integrity and transparency. When a media institution erases part of its historical record without explanation, it does not just alter a webpage, it alters the public record. What could have been a moment of self-correction became a demonstration of selective accountability. The Twatterbaas incident is not about defending inflammatory commentary. It is about holding a media house to the standards it claims to enforce. Either the graph is disinformation, and News24 should answer for publishing it — or it is legitimate, in which case their condemnation of @twatterbaas's use of it appears ideologically motivated. What emerges is not a debate over data, but a demonstration of power. News24's decision to expose the user, frame the content as racist, and then quietly delete its own connection to that data speaks to a culture of control rather than consistency. It reflects a media structure less interested in truth than in preserving authority, even at the cost of coherence. And here, the emotional weight becomes necessary. Because beyond the editorial contradictions lies something more unsettling: the willingness to weaponise public morality selectively. When institutional media engages in such tactics, it sends a message, not just to @twatterbaas, but to all dissenting voices, that speech outside sanctioned narratives may be punished, shamed, or erased. What South Africans witnessed was not only the exposure of an anonymous critic, but the exposure of an institution's own discomfort with its contradictions. If the media is to hold others accountable, it must be prepared to do the same within its own walls. The scandal does not lie in a tweet or a graph. It lies in the quiet deletion, the loud condemnation, and the unwillingness to confront the hypocrisy in between. In choosing to erase rather than explain, News24 has undermined not only its own credibility, but the very principles it purports to defend. * Sipho Tshabalala is an independent writer, analyst and political commentator. ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.
News24
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News24
Family feuds, love triangles and loss: The Suidooster twists set to heat up your winter
The winds of change refuse to settle in Ruiterbosch, the fictional Cape Town suburb where the popular kykNET soap Suidooster unfolds. As the chill of winter creeps in, tensions heat up for several residents. Here are five twists to watch out for this May: 1. Trouble still looms for the Daniels family After the nightmare caused by Carlo (Jadon Booysen), could there finally be light at the end of the tunnel? It seems Carlo is starting to realise he must face the consequences of his actions – and the police want answers, too. Nazeem (Irvine van der Merwe) is feeling the heat... A critical decision about Carlo's future is on the table, but will Lee-Ann (Portia Joel) and Wade (Dean Smith) simply accept it – or fight back? 2. Bianca takes control – but at what cost? Bianca (Simone Biscombe) has a powerful awakening and vows to reclaim her life. Siya (Gantane Kusch) offers to support her through her new battle with addiction, hoping to help her start afresh. Meanwhile, Kate (Annelisa Weiland) drops a bombshell on Riaan (Daniel Coetzee) about his past with Bianca. Though he believes their moment has passed – and that Bianca isn't ready for love – this could spark a brand-new love triangle... especially since Siya may feel more than just friendship for her. 3. A fierce feud erupts at Pronk Elana (Esther von Waltsleben) and Amore (Antoinette Louw) go head-to-head at Pronk, and things get downright ugly. Amore is not one to be underestimated – and Elana may find herself in a deep, dark hole she can't easily climb out of... 4. Bridgette faces a new reality Bridgette (Denise Newman) starts to feel her age catching up with her, prompting some lifestyle changes – but could there be more to her condition? Sensing an opportunity, Nazeem is ready to exploit her vulnerability for his own gain. 5. A death rocks the Booysen brothers A long-lost family member of Aiden (Theodore Jantjies) and Gary (Craig Adriaanse) passes away… but could one man's loss be another's gain? This twist may change the brothers' lives forever.
The Citizen
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
Battle of the towns: Will it be Scottburgh or Pennington?
Battle of the towns: Will it be Scottburgh or Pennington? Scottburgh and Pennington are going head-to-head in this year's kykNET Kwêla Dorp Van Die Jaar (Town of The Year) competition. The mid-South Coast towns are two of the three finalists in KwaZulu-Natal, with the third being Paulpietersburg. Since the announcement was made on kykNET on Monday this week, community members have been buzzing and are crossing fingers for their town of choice to win big. The public can now vote for their favourite town from each region. This round only allows 30 votes per cell number. The town with the most votes will then represent the competition region as their finalist town in the final round. Voting for this round is open until 12 noon on May 2. Simply SMS the name of the town you wish to vote for (Scottburgh or Pennington) to 33157. Votes cost R1.50 per SMS (free SMSes do not apply). After this round, Kwêla will film an insert in each of the nine villages that made it to the final round. When all nine towns have been featured on Kwêla, the public will be able to vote for their winning town in July, and the winner will be announced in August. The town wins R1m in marketing value from kykNET. Homebrew Films, the producers of Kwêla, will make a 45 second commercial about the town which will be broadcast during kykNET's advertising time. There will be a big celebration in the winning town – music, food, fun and lots of that winning town spirit! Kwêla will be there again to film it, and it will be broadcast later in the year. Lottoland will also donate a R1m cash prize for the town to invest back into itself, which will be audited by them. Each finalist town will be asked in advance to submit a business plan on what they intend to do with the potential prize money. SCOTTBURGH: Ward councillor Dana Daniels was ecstatic when the announcement for Scottburgh was made. 'Along with the Scottburgh community, I am thrilled about this nomination and give a heartfelt thanks to everyone who nominated us,' she said. 'Scottburgh could definitely benefit from a cash injection and a much-needed facelift, particularly around the beach area, which is a major drawcard for tourists. More visitors mean more jobs – a true win-win for our town!' Daniels also mentioned that several local businesses have come on board with special offers – simply show your 30 SMS votes to qualify. PENNINGTON: When Viv Sandwith from Tidy Towns Pennington was contacted by kykNET to say that Pennington was one of the three finalists in KZN, there was much excitement. 'We received a follow-up email, which gave us only a few days to send in the full submission with 20 pictures, and looking through all the photos I had taken over the years made me realise how lucky we are to live in this little piece of paradise,' said Sandwith. Tidy Towns Pennington has worked hard to improve the public spaces, car park, clean up the entrances, put up nice signage around Pennington and more. 'It made us so proud to watch the show the night the announcement was made, and see what Pennington looks like though other people's eyes. We have lots of plans in the pipeline to make Pennington the jewel of the South Coast.' Aside from Paulpietersburg, will it be Scottburgh or Pennington? The choice is yours… so don't forget to vote. HAVE YOUR SAY Like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
