‘Good Times Bad Times’ has started season 34. Which of the residents of Meerdijk survived the large-scale pile-up that ended the previous series? The question is whether ‘GTST’ itself will survive.
What is clear is that RTL will at least have a new season of Good times Bad Times has shot, while two replacement quizzes were better viewed this summer and the frequency has been reduced to four episodes per week. The question is: how long does RTL want to pump money into the continued existence of this long-running soap?
It is no secret that the soap is relatively expensive to make. According to television expert Tina Nijkamp, an average episode quickly costs around 65,000 euros, because about a hundred people work every day to portray the ups and downs of the villagers. The margins are not very large, according to insiders. Although product placement is still raking in a few things. For example, a certain soup was very often in the picture and there was a lot of emphasis on Bing and Nina’s coffee machine.
Viewing figures
That the viewing figures shoot up as soon as the Meerdijkers pack their bags must be painful for production company EndemolShine every year. Also scored this summer I know everything about it (Ruben Nicolai’s quiz is cheaper to make, an episode costs about 35,000 euros), better. On average, 794 thousand people watched each broadcast in seven weeks GTST on average about 94,000 fewer people tune in.
The time for carefree seems to be over now that the summer break was even started a whole month earlier than usual to reduce costs. For example, due to the long duration of the break, there were not one, but even two substitutes. On August 7, Tijl Beckand took over from Ruben Nicolai with the quiz What is it about? . That one was also better viewed than GTST in target group 25-54 years, according to Nijkamp.
Any bookkeeper would draw conclusions based on these figures, if not RTL program director Peter van der Vorst.
Earlier he said that the soap will reach its 40th anniversary. ‘To keep the story recognizable’, he has been on top of it since taking office in 2019. For example, he continues to tinker with the look and feel and replaces his luxurious lunches in De Rozenboom with a cheese sandwich at the kitchen table. “You want to recognize what is happening there in that series,” he said earlier. “It has to be about normal people.”
Looking back
That the soap is an important title for Videoland is undisputed. Fans often click on the series to look back or to look ahead (a week). That’s how it stood GTST among the most viewed titles of all streaming services earlier this year. According to Nijkamp, however, it does not pay to only offer the soap classic via Videoland. “That’s not a good idea, because the quiz I know everything about it gets boring in the long run. It is, by the way, like TV quiz The smartest person, also such a hit because it is an event and not always on TV.”
GTST according to Nijkamp, it may be expensive to produce, but it is a good calling card. “It is the only drama that RTL4 still broadcasts as a channel. SBS6 no longer brings drama. It is also important because the channel distinguishes itself with it. In addition, it is a good showcase for Videoland. What many people forget is that only 1.8 million people have a subscription to Videoland. Not the rest of the Netherlands.”
‘Even fatter’
But first the question of who survived the blow in the fog. Idse Grotenhuis, creative producer at GTST: “The traffic crash causes a huge shock in Meerdijk and will explosively propel the storylines for the coming season.”
According to him, the consequences of the accident will have a profound impact on the lives of the Meerdijkers and their relationships. We know that at least one character was spared. Nola Sanders was at home at the time of the crash. Noa Zwan, who plays Demi Verduyn, has announced on Instagram that she found the cliffhanger ‘mega-fat’, but that the fresh episodes are ‘even fatter’.
Good times Bad Times Mon to Thu at RTL4, 8 p.m. and via Videoland