When Alistair Izobel’s Suidooster theme song starts playing on weeknights, everyone across South Africa knows it’s time to settle in – it’s Suidooster time.
Ten years later, the fictional Cape Town neighbourhood of Ruiterbosch – where this beloved kykNET soap opera is set – has become part of hundreds of thousands of South Africans’ social circles. Characters like Mymoena, Bridgette, Fiekie, Mrs J, Nazeem, Wade, and Zoë have long been household names with whom viewers deeply identify.
On Friday, 14 November, Suidooster will air its 2,453rd episode – featuring rapper Early B.
And on the soap’s official 10th birthday (16 November), many Suidooster stars will appear in a special Koortjies episode with Elwira Standili at 19:00 on kykNET & kie.
Suidooster has been a show of many firsts, milestones, and innovative approaches.
Here are a few fascinating facts about the series:
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The launch of Suidooster marked a turning point for the film and TV industry in Cape Town. It directly led to the establishment of Atlantic Studios. The building was previously a Makro store that had stood empty for years before being transformed into studios. Today, it’s a world-class facility where numerous international productions are also filmed.
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Suidooster is filmed in two main studios: one houses the interiors of the characters’ homes, while the other features the businesses – such as the pharmacy, Oos Wes Coffee Shop, the shopping centre courtyard, Nazeem’s store, and JPD.
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Since 2024, many of Suidooster’s outdoor scenes have been filmed in front of Filmscape’s enormous LED screen at Atlantic Studios. Measuring 32 metres wide and six metres high, it’s the largest and most advanced screen of its kind in Africa. Suidooster is the only South African soapie to film in front of such a screen. Bianca (Simone Biscombe) and Siya (Gantane Kusch)’s wedding was filmed using this technology.
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Over the years, Suidooster has raised about R200,000 for charity, donating to organisations such as the Red Cross Children’s Hospital and Tygerberg Hospital’s breast cancer unit.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, Suidooster partnered with the Suidoosterfees to host the festival at Atlantic Studios. A massive permanent digital screen was installed at the front of the building, and the space was transformed into a drive-in theatre – a huge success.
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Since 2022, the soap has co-hosted the annual Suidooster Stormsterk music and entertainment concert at Artscape alongside Suidoosterfees. It will appear on the festival programme for the fifth time next year.
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In partnership with the SA Film Academy and Suzuki, Suidooster launched the Filmgro Management School at Atlantic Studios in Cape Town. Nearly 150 young people in the local film and TV industry have earned their driver’s licences through this initiative.
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In 2019, Die Suidooster Kombuis recipe book was released – a celebration of culture, tradition, and nostalgia, showing how food brings together friends and family through love and shared stories. It was compiled by Errieda du Toit, content producer for kykNET food shows (including Kokkedoor).
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Suidooster was the first South African soapie to feature a Muslim wedding on screen – in 2018, when Rhafiek Samsodien (Irshaad Ally) married Carmen (Desiré Gardener).
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A special Suidooster magazine, featuring the A–Z of the soap, was published in 2023 to celebrate its 2,000th episode.
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Suidooster is one of the Afrikaans programmes with the largest social media followings – 436,000 followers on Facebook and 110,000 on Instagram.
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Several of its storylines have made newspaper headlines:
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The polygamy storyline featuring AB (Cedwyn Joel) and Farah (Lee-Ann van Rooi). On 7 October 2020, AB took Farah Adjerahn as his second wife.
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Tabloid magazine covers – such as Bridgette (Denise Newman) and her “Ben Ten,” Donovan (played by Marvin-Lee Beukes).
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Radio discussions – including the sudden death of AB (Cedwyn Joel), who died in the presence of his wife, Mymoena (Jill Levenberg), after being accidentally shot by a hitman. The real target was Dirk (Evang Hengst).
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TV news coverage – about the villainous Orpa Blignaut (Marissa Drummond) storyline, where she and her husband James (Dries Botha) exploited the church community of Ruiterbosch under a façade of holiness.
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Suidooster airs weekdays at 18:00 on kykNET (DStv channel 144) and at 18:30 on kykNET & kie (DStv channel 145). It’s also available on DStv Stream and Showmax.