Binnelanders fans can look forward to a double-dose of the daily soapie as from Monday, 5 April 2010.
As you probably know, long-running soapie
Egoli will be ending it's 18-year run next year: the confirmed date for the final episode is Tuesday, 2 March 2010.
Once Egoli ends, Binnelanders will take over the soapie's current timeslot of 18h30 to 19h00, resulting in the show running from 18h00 to 19h00: the first South African daily show to run an hour.
To prepare for the upscale event, the show has been auditioning for new characters who'll join the hospital shenanigans in new, dedicated studios that are being built in Randburg, close to the M-Net headquarters. The show has been filming at Broadcast House in downtown Jozi since it's premiere in 2005 and has run out of space to house the show's increasing temperature.
Word from the set is that the new studios will have a noticeable on-screen impact, with a new look and new locations.
As for Egoli's swansong: the soapie's finale episode will be followed by a tribute series to the show that starts the following day, on Wednesday, 3 March 2010.
The tribute will recap the 18-years of the series in daily, half-hour episodes, in the usual timeslot at 18h30. Once the tribute finishes, Binnelanders takes over the timeslot on 5 April.
While Binnelanders prepares to go bigger and better, Egoli is in the process of filming
Egoli: The Movie, while bidding TV viewers goodbye in a roadshow.
The show started the tour in Bloemfontein at the end of October and will be visiting the Bravo festival at the Garden Route Casino in Mosselbay next: from Saturday, 19 December 2009 to Tuesday, 22 December.
The tour ends at Goudini Spa in the Western Cape on 26 December, 2009.