Fans of “The Bold and the Beautiful,” “Days of our Lives,” “General Hospital” and “The Young and the Restless” are very vocal online and social media talking about wanting to see more of the veteran characters and actors of their favorite soap after claims that more attention is being given to the new actors and/or characters, but could they handle an entirely new cast of actors and the introduction of new characters all in one fell swoop? That’s what fans of the South African based SABC soap “Generations,” not to be confused with NBC’s “Generations,” will have to get used to. The show has fired its entire cast after they all refused to return to the Johannesburg studio, where the show is filmed, following demands of better pay, reports BBC News.
Somewhat similar in style to “B&B,” which follows the fashion industry, “Generations” centers on a group of men and women working in the advertising industry. As one would expect on American soaps, plenty of romance, murder, suspense, blackmail, lies, drama, and more happens each weekday on “Generations,” which is estimated to have an average daily audience of 7.5 million.
The fired actors include: Sophie Ndaba, Menzi Ngubane, Nambitha Mpumlwana, Seputla Sebogodi, Zolisa Xaluva, Katlego Danke, Winnie Modise, Zenande Mfenyana, Anga Makubalo, Patrick Shai, Slindile Nodangala, Mandla Gaduka, Thato Molamu, Thami Mngqolo, Zikhona Sodlaka and Atanndwa Kani.
“We live in a country that is notorious for artists living and dying in a state of poverty, tragically, never managing to earn what is their due, despite being associated with a number of successful projects,” the actors said in a statement before they were fired.
“We urged them to come back to work and record while we were sorting all outstanding issues and they refused and we let them go. That’s it, finish and klaar,” said show creator and executive producer Mfundi Vundla in an interview explaining their reasons for letting the cast go, which you can listen to in its entirety below:
“The principal cast of ‘Generations,’ currently on strike, have each received letters of dismissal, with immediate effect. The cast have made a decision to examine their legal options, as a result of this latest development, and will update members of the media accordingly,” read a statement by Dreamcatcher on behalf of the Generations Actors Guild, which was shared by Mngqolo on Twitter.
Episodes featuring the 16 actors are expected to continue airing through at least October. “Generations” debuted in 1994.
What do you think? Could “B&B,” “DAYS,” “GH” or “Y&R” survive a total overhaul if their cast demanded more or better pay?