The drama. The intrigue. The ever-looming deadline. Yes, folks: the acclaimed local drama series Hard Copy is back for a third season. This time The Bulletin is in the hands of the deliciously evil Zolani Modise (John Matshikiza) and his playboy son, Prince (Buyile Mdladla), who have plans to turn the beloved paper into a racy tabloid.
Familiar faces in the cast include Jody Abrahams as Benny, Martin le Maitre as Ivan, Shannon Ezra as Kim, Darren Maule as Grant and Fiona Ramsay as Dorothy; while newcomer Maggie Benedict will play Prince's long-suffering PA. Leading the production team for Curious Pictures is Tim Greene, while Darrel Bristow-Bovey is at the helm of the writing process. A number of top directors have been drafted in to direct various episodes, including John Trengrove, Hlomla Dandala and Jann Turner.
I’ve been watching Hard Copy since about episode 3 of the first season. I actually saw the half hour ‘making of’ documentary that was aired the week before the show started, and although I found it very interesting, for some reason I just never felt inclined to watch the show itself. I think I was just sceptical, as I think most South Africans are, about the potential of a local programme. Awful visions of a certain local soapie crossed my mind: bad lighting, worse acting, cringe-worthy plots. Was this the standard of local television? Fortunately, I was wrong, and from the first episode of Hard Copy I watched, I was hooked. All right, I will admit that the first episode I saw was the one with *the kiss* between Benny (Jody Abrahams) and Kim, and this had a lot to do with it! I should probably declare upfront that I am a HUGE Jody Abrahams fan. I think he is fantastic, and fabulous, and extremely sexy. (So if the JL (JodyLove) goes a bit overboard during the recaps, I do beg pardon.)
Right. Where was I? Oh yes. So I’ve been an avid Hard Copy watcher ever since. When the first season ended, I was really worried that it wouldn’t be brought back for a second season, as is the way of such things. Then, while I was sitting in an internet café in a grey and miserable London, I happened to read an article on season 2 of Hard Copy. Well, needless to say, I immediately phoned home and extracted a promise from my long-suffering father to faithfully record every single episode. Then I was really worried that a third season would not be forthcoming, but a chance visit to the Curious Pictures homepage a few months ago revealed the glad news of Season 3.
I am a bit suspicious of the ‘All New And Improved!’ tabloid format – more visions crossed my mind: this time of a different certain local soapie (one that's rather scandalous *cough*). I hope that Hard Copy will be able to maintain its high production and creative standards, while at the same time introduce new and exciting plotlines. Bottom line: I’m really looking forward to season 3 - it’ll be interesting to see how things pan out over the 26 episodes.
Although I like the way it’s done, in that it’s filmed so close to broadcast so as to include current news events, that also means there’s a limited amount of gossip that can come out about upcoming episodes! Yes, I read the tvplus, why do you ask?
I was really pleased to discover this website, by the way. I’ve been a longtime visitor of an American TV recap & snark website, but it’s great to have a homegrown one. Let me add, however, that the snark (sarcastic commentary) will not be held back. Much as I love this programme, if I feel something is snark-worthy, it will be snarked upon. I’ve always wanted to be a TV recapper and pour out my snark on the world, so… you have been warned!
Here’s to the new season…see you Wednesday at 20:31 on SABC3!
With thanks to the Curious Pictures website and the TVSA News Desk for the information, and the Television Without Pity FAQ page for the definition of snark.
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