The Meilandjes have surprised friend and foe by pulling the plug on a successful and lucrative TV program. Why is that? “John de Mol didn’t even answer Erica.”
Chateau Meiland has been exhausted, but is nevertheless still a great success on SBS 6. However, the Meilandjes have decided to stop the program after the current series and the subsequent Christmas special. According to critics, including the son of their employer John de Mol, they think they want to improve their negotiating position.
John dissed Erica
It would be a costly tactic, because missing Chateau Meiland for one season would cost them a lot of money. According to Tina Nijkamp, the former channel boss of SBS 6, they are paid 80 thousand euros per episode.
Could there be something else at play? Yes, thinks weekly magazine Privé. “The fact that the Meilandjes broke with John de Mol’s SBS 6 may also be because he did not honor Erica’s request for a role in a drama series. In fact, he did not even respond after Erica expressed her wish.”
Gooische Vrouwen
How exactly does this work? Erica wanted to have a role in Gooische Vrouwen, the series by John’s sister Linda de Mol. “We visited John de Mol’s office once. And then I told him myself, but it didn’t happen,” she explained earlier this year.
So John completely dissed her. And while Linda’s series was not the only option. “Erica was thinking of the SBS squatters Gooische Vrouwen and/or Medisch Centrum West.”
Reset
According to Privé, Erica is no longer talking about a TV farewell, but about a ‘reset’. “You also need some rest. Just nothing at all.”
“Does that take a long time, a reset button?” Martien then asks. He adds: “That will be a long time for me.”