Ninejamb

A brand new video interview with Martha Byrne for a Dutch outlet:

Today marks exactly 35 years since the Netherlands aired the first daily soap opera on the European mainland: Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden (Good Times, Bad Times). This anniversary is being marked today with a double episode featuring several faces from the past. But it's also an episode with a darker side: actress Jette van der Meij is leaving the series, and her character Laura Selmhorst is passing away after 7134 episodes. The character of Laura is based on Louise Archer from The Restless Years (which formed the basis for GTST) and was originally only supposed to run for 93 episodes. When the original scripts called for Arnie Alberts to leave the series after over 200 episodes, the then-Dutch producers decided to follow his journey to his parents in America and thus keep him, making a return for Laura an option. Laura has subsequently become a regular face on the series (with a few brief interruptions) and has experienced all sorts of things. She lost her baby daughter Lotje to cot death, her son Arnie disappeared without a trace in Venezuela, she joined a cult, threw her husband Robert through a mirror in anger, and fought to the death with Linda for love. At 50, she became the mother of a son, Sil, revealed she had been married to her biological son, Dennis, was betrayed by a shrewd con man, and was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. She also kidnapped a baby while in a fragile state, was involved in a murder, committed fraud, removed an ex-lover from the civil registry, and falsified a DNA test. Over the years, she has worked as an interior stylist, painter, jazz singer, lawyer, matchmaker, hotel manager, and café owner. Laura's departure is made all the more memorable by the one-time return of her son Arnie Alberts, played by Reinout Oerlemans. Arnie was a defining character for the series for the first six years and disappeared without a trace during a business trip to Venezuela. For years, his fate remained a mystery, until news broke in 2005 that his body had been found. Despite this, the producers quietly reversed this decision, and his death was never discussed again, partly due to the anger of fans who refused to accept Arnie's death. Actor Reinout Oerlemans spent years after his departure trying to shed Arnie's image and was adamant that he would never return to the series. Until ten years ago, during a double interview with Jette, he promised her he would return if she ever left. He kept his word, and last March, the scene in which Arnie asks his mother if she's going with him was filmed on the beach. This marks not only the end of Laura, but also Arnie's long-awaited one-time return and the end of an era. Reinout Oerlemans said the following about his one-time return: "It was fantastic and an honor to do," says the producer and actor. Reinout says that Jette has always been "the heart of the series." "I owe her a lot, and I find it valuable to have been a part of such an important period in her life." The television producer found filming the scene "quite strange." "Because I hadn't been on camera for so long. But the crew was fantastic and respectful. With Jette, it was just like old times." It was Jette's own choice to leave the series after 35 years: "In 2021, I reached retirement age, and that's when my contract ended. The producers wanted me to continue, and I wanted that too. But the idea was already in my head. How fantastic would it be to be in the first episode and then leave exactly 35 years later on the same date. What's also nice: it's half my life." "Are you coming with me?" - "Yes."

No, I watched a few snippets after the first episode, but since French isn't my native language, it wasn't easy to follow. That doesn't change the fact that I feel it's a shame for all the cast and crew who believed in it so much. But apparently, there's a limit to the number of soap operas that can run simultaneously in France.

The inevitable has happened: Nouveau Jour has been canceled by M6 due to disappointing ratings. The series will still be properly wrapped up so the creators can give the handful of viewers closure, but it has been moved to a graveyard slot of 4:55 AM on linear; M6 is therefore fully committed to making the series available for viewing on the M6+ platform. M6 said the following about the cancellation: "Despite very positive reviews since its launch, and significant audiences on M6+, 'Nouveau jour' has not found its audience on linear. The observation we make is that there is no room for more than 4 daily serial series in linear. Filming will therefore stop at the end of this first season."

Nouveau Jour is struggling to engage viewers so much that channel M6 has decided to move the series from 8:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., starting next Monday. Putting it directly opposite Un Si Grand Soleil at its previous time was a big gamble on the channel's part, but this change is a sign that the series might not have a long life. Nevertheless, M6 maintains its confidence in the series, partly because it reportedly attracts a large audience on its on-demand service. The series attracted over 1.2 million viewers with its first episode, but that has since dropped, and its market share is also not encouraging, with ratings between 4 and 5 percent. Tout Pour la Lumiere is still not a big hit for TF1, but in terms of figures and market share it scores higher at 6pm than Nouveau Jour did at 8:30pm. Below is the first episode of both soaps, which has been made available for free on YouTube by the respective channels:

That's for sure. Even Plus Belle la Vie, Encore Plus Belle which airs on TF1 in the afternoon, draws an average of between 1.5 and 2 million viewers. Most likely because it airs when working French people are on their lunch break, but it's still mindblowing. And the broadcasters are investing heavily in their soaps. For Nouveau Jour (New Day), a castle was permanently rented and converted into a hotel, and an entire backlot of over 3,000 m² was built so the production wouldn't have to close off entire streets to film scenes. As a broadcaster you really have to be confident that a series will recoup such investments.

Almost a year after this topic started, two brand-new daily soaps have launched on French television. This brings the total to six (!) daily soaps in the country. "Tout pour la lumière" (All for the Light) launched on TF1 on June 16th, and is a collaboration with Netflix. 90 episodes have been ordered so far. The series revolves around the artistic center Studio Lumière, which specializes in singing and dancing. "Victoria Vargas returns to La Ciotat after several years. She turned her back on her family and on her singing career 20 years earlier after a tragedy. But when her mother is in a coma, she decides to return to her hometown. She discovered the Studio Lumière, run by her mother, where young artists train hard in the hope of making their dreams come true and living their passion for music and dance to the fullest. Will they be able to overcome sacrifices and rivalries to become the best?" Sounds more like the plot of a telenovela to me, but hey, Ici Tout Commence has proven that a series centered around a specific location/training program can work perfectly. The series airs at 6:00 PM. The first episode attracted over a million viewers, and since then, the numbers have fluctuated between 750,000 and 1 million viewers per episode. For comparison, Ici Tout Commence, which airs immediately afterwards, averages 2 million viewers per episode. The soap opera "Nouveau Jour" (New Day) launched on M6 on June 30th. Plans to launch a daily soap opera on that channel were already underway in 2022. So far, 130 episodes of the series have been ordered. "After the disappearance at sea of Lucien Bartoli, owner of the city's beautiful 4-star hotel, his eldest daughter Louise took over the hotel with the help of her son Gabriel, thus harming her brother Tarek and her sister Audrey. However, the siblings are already torn apart by a very heavy family secret. The return to the city of Théa, Audrey's daughter, will totally reshuffle the cards. But the real threat arrives sooner than expected: the estate becomes the target of a strange raven. All the members of the Bartoli clan and their entourage will have to take their destiny into their own hands: for each one, it is time for a new beginning, a new day..." This series is broadcast in prime time around 8:30 PM in the evening, right opposite Un Si Grand Soleil. The first episode attracted more than 1.5 million viewers, but it has since dropped to 790,000 viewers in the first week. The series now attracts an average of 750,000 - 1 million viewers per episode.

Honestly, the Weigels at UU are more grounded and real in my opinion than the Steinkamps at AWZ. The latter family always feels somewhat comical to me, especially Richard and Simone, with the same storylines repeating over and over again. After the upteemth time of splitting up and getting back together or losing and regaining power of the sportscentre, it's becoming stale. Another problem with those two is that they're absent from the show for periods on end, which also isn't working for the flow. That being said, I also don't understand why TPTB at Unter Uns won't write Anna back into the show, indeed with a child (or multiple). I don't care if they have to retcon some stuff or SORAS the children from the get-go, but a show like UU (with heavily relies on the family-aspect) needs a core Weigel in the show and Anna as a new matriarch (as a spitirtual successor for Irene) could work. But then again, they f-d up the comeback of Chris and Corinna big time and the last recast of Till also didn't work, so they rather come up with a bogus retcon around Margot to introduce some ersatz-Weigels. Still, I think UU deserves more love, attention (and money) from RTL. It's a miracle that they're still on the air, but they have a loyal fanbase and the writers/producers clearly are doing their best to keep the show going, while TPTB at AWZ are struggling for years on end now, and those at GZSZ simply don't care.

Honestly, this should be the last chance for AWZ. The series has been struggling for years now - in a way because I think that desperately holding on to the Steinkamp family is not doing the development of the series any good. Bringing back Vanessa (again!), Maximilian (again!) or randomly introducing forgotten daughters (Simone has a very selective form of amnesia) is a sign that they are trying to bring back the magic of the early years without actually knowing how to. In my opinion, they should accept their loss and be happy that a series that was developed as a telenovella and was converted into an ongoing soap opera at the eleventh hour has lasted so long. I would say: put Unter Uns on that time slot and give them the freed up AWZ budget. Because that series has been treated scandalously by RTL for years on end.

I think Gerner is already very strong portrayed by Wolfgang Bahro, despite the questionable scripts and fashion of that time. I also like Peter, although the writers clearly struggled to portray him as more than just a hothead. I have always found Daniel sympathetic (also in the Dutch version) and Michael is also a fine character. In the period I am in now, Tina is not yet a very strong character, I think. But I find the whole line with the boutique rather strange. If only because you never see a customer there 😂 Officially yes, but the scripts are still half filled with original Australian storylines up to episode #300, although changed (often because the original characters have been written out). A few examples: the storyline of Max Probst who comes to live with his uncle Michael, is originally a story in which Hilde Reim's nephew needs shelter because his criminal father is on the loose, and ends up with the then newly married Frank and Elke through her. The stories about the bullying at school and his difficulty with reading and writing also come from Australia. Also from Australia: the introductory story about Charlie Fierek. Originally he is the son of KC, a woman who replaces Elisabeth in Domi-Ziel when she is on vacation for a while (that character never made it into the German version). He has bad friends with whom he commits a burglary, but when the police are after them Charlie panics and hides the loot in Peter's warehouse, who is then suspected of the burglary. For GZSZ they made Charlie a resident of Domi-Ziel, changed electronics for drugs and the story largely played out as in both Australia and the Netherlands. Other storylines taken directly from the Australian script: Saskia's romance with Volker Arnold (although it was originally a storyline for Julia), the campaign to save a city park, Daniel and Cornelia's troubled romance (she was Carola Richter's sister in the original story), Claudia's return and affair with Gerner (and her sudden feelings for Daniel for about two episodes), Patrick joining the city council, Tommy and Max getting lost and Tommy undergoing surgery to regain his sight, the storyline involving Anni Kauffeld (although she died in both Australia and the Netherlands in the story, and it originally was about stolen diamonds) and the mystery surrounding the anonymous threatening letters (although originally involving characters like Julia, Frank, Elke and the aforementioned KC). Wiebe and Barbara also come from the Australian story and their backstory (with Barbara's dead fiancé that Wiebe blames himself for) is pretty much the same, but originally Wiebe was a construction worker that Peter came to work for, while Barbara was initially a housewife and would later work in the café before becoming romantically involved with Gerner. Storylines that were created by the German writing team during that period include the return of Tina and the opening of the boutique, the romance between Heiko and Yaesmin, the closing of Domi-Ziel with Daniel who later wants to take over a fitness studio, the return of Andre Holm, the romance between Michael and Iris and the first signs of romance between Peter and Saskia. The romance between Florian and Simone is also of German origin, although Florian was initially a replacement for Markus Born (the storyline where he is secretly in love with Saskia is an example of this). They really didn't take much from the Dutch GTST (except for the title and a few character names), mainly because they largely stuck to the Australian original for a longer period (until around episode #400, with a few changes for popular characters in The Netherlands like Heiko, Tina and Lilo). Fun fact: GTST clearly borrowed the storyline about Tina opening a boutique from GZSZ (the latter came up with the storyline in spring 1993, while GTST came up with it in autumn 1993 when they brought the character back for a second time). In many of the own storylines I just notice that the German writers tried to get a feel for what works for a soap. For example: the storyline where Patrick has Saskia's apartment building molested with stones through the windows and disconnected telephone lines could have been interesting, but there is no good or clear reason given why. It was more of a diversionary maneuver in the storyline about Heiko and Yaesmin but not well thought out. The return of Andre also feels rather illogical with the things he does, and the romance between Florian and Simone is soporific. But with the knowledge of the Dutch (and to a lesser extent the Australian) version sharply in mind, it makes it all the more interesting to watch 😁

I am currently watching the 1993 episodes of GZSZ, as a Dutch soap geek who was curious to see when and how the German version changed from the Dutch (and Australian) version. I'm around episode 295 and it's... somewhat tiresome. It is still in a so-called Frankenstein-era, with the combination of altered storylines of the Australian original and storylines from their own. It is clear the small German writersteam was still figuring out how to write compelling soap stories - or even scenes. But in a way it is very interesting to see how they slowly get a sence of making a soap which will stick with the audience. I've watched AWZ for some periodes in the past, and it's safe to say I disliked the character of Ingo. I don't know what it was, but his somewhat childish behavior really bothered me. His relationship with Diana was a snoozefest, although the writers didn't even know to write some compelling stuff for her return so it wasn't a suprise. But anyway, given his popularity with the fans, I can understand why the creators would bring him back, especially now that the series is in a slump.

You can find the current ratings of DNA here. And for a complete view, the ratings of PBLV:EPB, USGS and ITC. It's obvious that the interest from the audience has slightly declined over the years (all the soaps used to attract around 3 to 4 million viewers per episode, with PBLV in it's hey day around 6 million), but I think the ratings are still solid. And I think the episodes on TF1+ also attract many viewers who want to watch it on their own terms. I think the commune of Sete is very happy with so many shoots on location and they'll encourage it, because it will attracts more visitors and tourists. For example: they used to shoot the scenes in restaurant Le Spoon on the real location in the first few years, but the show became so popular that fans wanted to visit the location. So they've rebuild the set in the studio, and transformed the real location into a place dedicated to the series.

This article explains a lot of the production model for DNA (and I think is similar to those of PBLV, ITC and USGS). The budget is high with around 140.000 euros per episode and there are three teams filming scenes simultaneously. And a big difference is that the European soaps are broadcasted in prime time instead of daytime (with exception of the revival of PBLV), so that there's a bigger and broader audience.