Linda de Mol is making a serious career mistake by falling back on such an old success as Gooische Vrouwen, according to media critic Victor Vlam. “She goes after Wendy van Dijk.”
It is very clear that Linda de Mol has become a bit desperate. Her switch to SBS 6 was not a success, but all the fuss surrounding her sweetheart Jeroen Rietbergen made the wind blow even harder. The headwind that is. And what is the easiest way out? Going back to a very old success from its glory days.
Reboot risk
Linda is breathing new life into Gooische Vrouwen and that, according to media critic Victor Vlam, is a big risk. “The point is that a reboot, as it is called in TV terms, is very often not that successful at all,” he says in his podcast The Communicadoos, pointing to the reboots of Kees & Co and Zeg ‘ns Aaa. “Both of them were actually not really successful.”
What causes that? “The trick with a reboot is, on the one hand, to take what made the series popular in the past and on the other hand to translate it to today. So some things you have to keep, other things you have to renew. But that is a very difficult, delicate balance and before you know it, you have changed too much.”
Terrible
Victor mentions the failed series ‘Baantjer: the beginning’ as an example. “Well, that resulted in a ratings horror. That was really terrible. It wasn’t a fun series either, because it was just completely unrecognizable
Baantjer once made great. It wasn’t fun to watch.”
He continues: “On the other hand, Kees & Co and Zeg ‘ns Aaa changed far too little, which made it feel really old-fashioned. So it’s really a very difficult balance to find.”
Career mistake
The jubilation about the comeback of Gooische Vrouwen can only lead to disappointment, Victor thinks. “My guess is that it will be very successful at the beginning, because everyone is curious about the new series, but there is a good chance that it will not live up to the expectations and memories we have of it.”
Moreover, it is a weak choice on Linda’s part, he thinks. “I think it’s a mistake on Linda’s part career-wise, because I think living on past success is a real danger. As far as I’m concerned, that still indicates that she is in the final phase of her career. I think you always have to keep innovating.”
After Wendy
If that stops, Victor says you’re screwed. “You see that happening with Linda: she goes back to Gooische Vrouwen, she is also in Miljoenenjacht, nothing new is added. That is a danger, because yes, Miljoenenjacht seems to be on its way out and at a certain point if Gooische Vrouw flops, the question is what will take its place.”
Then Linda suddenly finds herself without any hits. “Just like a bit of Wendy van Dijk is also in that situation. So on that note, I’m not terribly positive about this by any means. This could just be a flop.”