Presenter Ewan Strydom and director Nina Swart on the set of Plaasjapie. Photo supplied

How difficult or easy was it to determine the mix of who you put in as contestants?

The mandate from kykNET was “the more city slicker-ish, the better”, but I also didn’t want to put purely one-dimensional South Africans in the show.

What’s the antithesis of a farmer? Is it a model? There’s more than just one “opposite”, so to create the mix – and Albert also created the format in such a way – I wanted to prove that someone of my age in their late forties can also win. Despite the fact that Plaasjapie might sound like a butch, young guy game, the point is that a middle-aged woman should also be able to win. Create a game where anyone can be the winner.

Do you think South African reality show contestants are becoming “smarter” to know better what to do and say, how to behave, and what’s expected of them once the cameras roll? Are local reality contestants levelling up on the reality TV intelligence quotient?

I definitely think that’s the case, yes.

When we started with Boer Soek’ n Vrou in 2008 for kykNET – I mean, it was a big thing to try and find love or to expose yourself on television. For many years I’ve been aware of that. People often say Afrikaans people are different, they’re more reserved, and it’s exactly what you’re saying.

I think – and I’m speaking about the Afrikaans kykNET TV market but also the broader TV market – I think it’s led by the success of all of the Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) shows.

I don’t think we’re where the Americans are, and I also don’t think we’ll ever get to that level since there’s a tremendous honesty and earnestness under 95% of the contestants across all of the shows I’ve worked with. There is a percentage of fake quality under contestants from other countries, a type of “I must say this to make good TV,” but I find that the honesty of South Africans makes it more interesting and, secondly, leads to longevity for characters with all of their shades.

If how they present themselves were just a gimmick, they are not complex and multi-dimensional characters. I love the honesty of South Africans. They are still somewhat reserved -there’s a layer of “manners” – but there are more local lifestyle, and reality shows are making people understand better what they have to do. They’re not always willing to give it, but they understand it better.

Plaasjapie takes place over 21 days, for 13 episodes, and you did it on a farm in Philadelphia in the Swartland. How challenging was the process to find the farm and to get everything there, and where did the production team stay?

Philadelphia was very functional because it’s not too far away from Cape Town, so the production team transformed one of the sheds into a type of “one-night stand” technical base with a few beds and a working shower where you could sleep over if you were too tired after a day’s filming. But the majority drove home at the end of the end.

Production members long ago went to go make friends in that area, and the hill on which the cooperation stands – that structure where Ewan Strydom as the host can look out across his “farms”, and the arena – that layout was very attractive to us and that there wasn’t a tree in sight. The structures are still there, which were specifically erected for Plaasjapie.

What was challenging for you specifically, and what was challenging, in general, to get Plaasjapie in the can?

To produce any television during the Covid-pandemic was difficult with all the challenges inherent within our industry. That’s maybe the boring answer.

For me, it was, in a positive way, a challenge – to work with a new format and make sure that the show’s essence and what’s different about it shines.

It was doing a format that’s an adventure show in which people also learn something about themselves, and farming is celebrated. But also making strong, competitive television that keeps viewers glued – and to keep all those things running at the same time, under sometimes challenging weather conditions.

There wasn’t really any shade – not even for the crew. We had to build little houses with a bit of aircon inside. We worked in breaks for the crew just to go and feel a bit of aircon and cool down. On something like Survivor SA, there’s at least a tree or something often to stand under, but the crew stood with the contestants in the sun, in that dust for hours, with the wind. And people living in the Swartland know it’s wind, wind, wind!

You get home at night, and you have dust in your ears. And when you sit, there’s a thorn in your back. The joy was experiencing the true grit of the technical team and the contestants.

A new format is a challenge, and keeping it engaging for the viewer means every day is a new challenge to remain fresh, creative, and ahead of the game.

What did you enjoy and find enriching where you felt Plaasjapie expanded your skills and knowledge set?

Such a lot. I enjoy being part of a team a lot instead of being “the boss”.

Through the years, I became part of the content creation side of  television, and it’s my forte, and I enjoy it. On a personal level, it was so enriching to learn how to manage a big team and to work on a bigger platform. I also don’t believe in produced content. I’ve always believed in “I’m providing a proscenium, I’m doing observational reality”. I interfere very little. I try to do an honest depiction of what’s happening. To see that it works, that you can get great content if you don’t try to “produce” it – that’s very satisfying. I’m not trying to make the most dramatic television. I believe people are interesting anyway. Just illuminate people, and their character will shine.

Plaasjapie airs Thursdays at 20:00 on kykNET (DStv 144).