He's been one of the most immortal characters on TV for over a decade but now it's time for him to take his final breath.
Breathe in / breathe out if you're a David Genaro fan...
... Jamie Bartlett makes his final appearance on Rhythm City tonight when The Puppet Master dies.
As you know, the storyline's been building up to it, with Suffocate (Mduduzi Mabaso) and Khulekani (Mncedisi Shabangu) shooting David in the legs last night, ready to go...
BANG!
Tonight they take out one of the few remaining original cast members on the show.
e.tv's gone all out to say goodbye to Jamie. They're hosting a farewell shindig for him today as we speak and they've been using a
#TributeToGenaro hashtag in the build-up to his final episode.
Jamie’s portrayed David since Rhythm City debuted in 2007 when he was introduced as the “wicked puppet master who gets the ultimate kick out of his own evil and pulling strings.”
>>Flash forward 13 years and he's known as The Don.
TVSA caught up with Rhythm City's Head Writer Zeli Rodgers for the inside scoop on his exit:
TVSA: Why is David Genaro leaving the show? Did Jamie decide to leave?
Zeli: No. The character has been on the show for 13 years playing the role of a villain. After so many years, no matter how successful the character, stories begin to feel similar and play the same note.
The producers, creative team and channel felt it was time to make some changes and evolve the show by introducing some new characters.
TVSA: Did the writers decide that David’s storylines have been exhausted?
Zeli: To an extent, yes - the character had tempted and escaped death many times, had committed serious crimes and been able to get away with these over the years.
When a character has defied death so often it is very difficult for the audience to believe they are ever in danger and this makes it difficult to write for him.
The character was created in 2007 and successfully entertained audiences for 13 years, however by 2020 it was strongly felt that the Rhythm City world needed new faces and representation.
By the end of 2018 the show felt dated. Unfortunately difficult decisions had to be taken, this being one of them, and we had to risk this.
TVSA: What’s been the biggest challenge of writing the script for the exit of such a momentous character?
Zeli: The biggest challenge was to create a story which delivered to the actor’s performance magnitude and to give his character a story opportunity that both inspired the actor and lived up to his character’s stature.
TVSA: How was his storyline written? By one particular writer? By a team? Please give us some insight into the process of writing his final scenes.
Zeli: The story was written by a single writer, brainstormed collaboratively by the writing team, producers and channel, edited by story editors and the head writer.
Final scenes were brainstormed with producers, the head writer and story liner and edited by the head writer and story editor.
---
Tap here to check out David's original character description from when the show first started:
The man he was in 2007 (Scroll through the characters and you'll find him fourth.)
For a tease of how his farewell storyline plays out, tune in here:
Rhythm City Teasers - February 2020.