You need it from your colleagues: Özcan Akyol attacks Khalid Kasem and Sophie Hilbrand in the VARA guide, which serves as their shared clubhouse. “Looking for the right anchors!”
Nothing is spared for Khalid Kasem and Sophie Hilbrand either. The announcement that they will become the late-night stars of NPO 1 has so far only led to criticism. What it actually comes down to is that no one thinks this is a good idea, but that BNNVARA would like to present a left-progressive sound and the duo is apparently succeeding in this.
Habit broken
Their direct colleague Özcan Akyol, who makes De Geknipte Gast for the broadcaster, among other things, is not enthusiastic either. He receives a letter from a disappointed broadcaster in his VARA guide letter column Lieve Eus. This Mr. Ben complains: “We always remain loyal to the broadcaster, but our habit has been broken by this duo.”
Ben doesn’t like Khalid and Sophie as talk show hosts at all. “Where is the young talent? Why isn’t that given a chance? Isn’t it a job for you?”
Young talent
Özcan thinks that we should not count on the young talent. “The young talent is making unnecessary videos on Instagram about vegan food and they discuss online for the thousandth time whether d*ck pics are allowed or not. It is not a generation that focuses on linear television for the aging viewer.”
Then he reveals that he is not a fan of Khalid & Sophie: “I think that BNNVARA should always have a daily talk show for balance. It just takes a while to find the right anchors.”
Painful sneer
So he doesn’t think Khalid & Sophie are the right anchors. “Perhaps over time they have prepared someone who can attract a wide audience, from literature readers to football viewers, someone from the province, who stands among the people and has years of experience in making television, on various channels.”
And that is of course a clear dig at Khalid, who before his job as a talk show host was a lawyer without any TV experience. And according to Özcan, the country is longing for a talk show host with experience. “A tall order.”