The viewer numbers for ‘Generations: The Legacy’ are seeing a downward spiral, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Once the highest rated show in South Africa, the long-running television soap opera has seen a significant plunge in the number of people tuning in at 20:00 weekdays to catch up with the storylines on the Morula Pictures production.

According to top television commentator Phil Mphela, the show’s ratings averaged 6,4 million viewers in March 2021. In perspective, this is more than 2,2 million viewers lost since June 2020, and a further loss since December 2020.

TV: Generations losing viewers

Ratings on SA’s second most watched tv show have continued to decline in 2021

The show began the year with 6.97-million viewers and peaked at 6,6mil in February.

According to March ratings, the numbers dropped further to 6.45mil.#KgopoloReports pic.twitter.com/J5bYvM5adH

— Kgopolo Mphela ☕️ (@PhilMphela) April 12, 2021

QuenchSA reported in February that the series brought in 6 858 031 daily viewers by December 2020, making it the second highest rated show on SABC 1 after ‘Uzalo’. While that number looks good at first glance, it’s how much the series has continued to face a gradual decline in ratings that matters. In June 2020, Generations: The Legacy had over 8,7 million people tuning in to watch daily.

While that boost was mainly down to the initial lockdown, the loss of more than 2,2 million viewers in a matter of months suggests that audiences are tuning out from the show.

Things haven’t been the same for the show since it went off air in August 2014, when the 16 main cast members walked off the set and refused to resume filming following disputes over salaries, a cut of R500 million in royalties and three-year extended contracts.

Then known as ‘Generations’, the show was off air for a month between 30 September 2014 and 30 September 2014, returning with the ‘Generations: The Legacy’ rebrand on the first December that year.

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He led the formidable cast that helped The Queen to strike ratings gold when the telenovela premiered in August 2016.

And years after he left, Sello Maake Ka-Ncube is now expected to return to the daily drama television series in the coming months. The award winning South african actor will be back to resume on the portrayal of Kgotsile, Harriet Khoza’s brother.

The veteran actor’s presence on the set of the show also suggests that differences between him and the Fergusons. In 2020, he reportedly hinted in an interview with Isolezwe that his departure from the show had not been as smooth as most would believe. “The Fergusons can only be the one’s who will reveal the sketchy details surrounding my exit on the show”, he said to the newspaper at the time.  “However I can confirm that, there was something that went wrong between us but they are best suited in letting the public know of what the reasons were.”

We never quite got down to those details, but all looks to be well.

The news of Maake Ka-Ncube’s return were shared by series producer Shona Ferguson, who dropped an awe inspiring clip of the cast applauding the actor from the set. While there’s no confirmation from production and M-Net at yet, there’s reason to believe that Kgotsile will be back on our screens in no time.

 

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A post shared by SHONA FERGUSON (@ferguson_films)

After all, the Fergusons will have to play some of their best cards to sustain the relevance of the telenovela. Over the past year, the landscape has seen some significant shift. And now that Isibaya, once the highest rated television series across DStv, has recently aired its finale after eight seasons on air, times call for new moves.

With ‘Gomora’ currently dishing out epic storylines and maintaining its place as the most viewed programme on DStv, as well as DiepCity replacing Isibaya with hard hitting stories delivered by a fresh cast, The Queen will be needing to refashion their approach.

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The lead up to Friday night (9 April 2021 at 19:30)’s episode of Gomora had all the workings of a crime thriller decking out its most spine chilling plots towards an inferno of disasters. Two things; by the end of Thursday night, Nomsa had finally made a breakthrough in her search for the real killer of her late son Dumisane, whom we now know if in fact Jomo.

The hush-money Sonto paid the doctor to cover up the truth about Jomo’s murder only went so far, as a nurse later promised to give Nomsa the real 411 at an undisclosed location and with no one in sight. Was Nomsa about to find out that her temp boss is in fact the one who smothered her son to death with a pillow?

As if that was not enough to make us mize absolutely everything to catch this episode, Friday marked the last day for Nthati to tell Langa and Melusi that they are biological father and son.

Gladys had cornered her the day before. After their failed attempts at bonding over the secret with ridiculous plans to cover it up even further, Gladys suddenly went a full 180 and gave Nthati an ultimatum; either she fesses up to her dirt, or Gladys would gladly do it. You know Gladys was ready to snitch.

On both accounts, the Mzansi Magic telenovela came all the way through! And, they blindsided all of us, coming in from directions we might have not foreseen.

Nthati and Glady’s running their mouths during one of the pap quarrels. We are thankful though because yeyi.

Although Nomsa met up with the nurse at the joint, all she was able to confirm was that indeed, her son’s death was down to foul play. Now she’s sobbing uncontrollably, begging the nurse to come forward with the information to the po po’s. Imagine having that much faith in the justice system. Although she didn’t get much further from this point, she was able to get Jomo’s clothes from the nurse.

It’s amongst these that she found an old letter with nothing but the truth. She knows every damn thing!

Oh, flip!

And then, of course, our favourite storyline, the dramatic build up to the revelation of Langa’s true paternity. The big moment came after Langa’s tech expo. Gladys and Nthati meet outside, where Gladys puts the pressure on Nthati to tell the truth. They start arguing back and forth. That’s when Ntokozo walks in on them, and stands close enough to hear, very clearly, that his father, is also the biological father of his friend.

The writers wanted to leave us knowing that Nthati and Gladys are both aware that Ntokozo has just found out because while he was standing there, his phone rang.

Congratulations girls you have played. Each other.

Gomora airs Mondays to Friday at 19:30 on Mzansi Magic, DStv channel 161.

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