Fergusons’ new drama
by BUHLE MBONAMBI source TONIGHT
Rockville marks the return to TV of super couple, Connie and Shona Ferguson and not just as actors, but also as executive producers. Rockville is a 10- part drama series, which lifts the lid on the dark side of South Africa – the drama, sacrifices and sometimes deception required to get to the top.
The writers, headed by Phathu Makwarela( Muvhango, Skeem Sam, Tshisa) have spun a story about two different worlds coming together – through their links to Club Venus, a bar where the city’ s black diamonds come out to play.
With Mbali Mlotshwa, Bonnie Henna, Ferry Jele, Minnie Dlamini and in her first role, Boity Thulo, joining the Fergusons, Rockville is edgy and a step in the right direction for local TV.
What inspired Rockville? Connie and Shona Ferguson had a basic idea of the kind of television show they wanted to produce. They wanted to create a TV show that is fresh and dynamic. I was brought on board as head writer and I knew that I had to bring my writing partner Gwydion Beynon( Jacob’ s Cross, Zone 14) into the project. With the active involvement of Connie and Shona, we went about creating and developing Rockville. It was more of a collaborative effort between us all, they had an idea of what they wanted and as writers Gwydion and I brought in our understanding and knowledge of drama, and together I believe we all created something beautiful.
How was the writing process? I have been writing for television dramas for some time now, but I have to admit that working on Rockville was the most creative engaging process I’ ve experienced. Over three months we had weekly story workshops, with Connie and Shona, and some of the best writers in the country. We examined every story angle and debated it until we were both happy.
In writing the show and the character arcs, especially for a 10-episode show, did you have to exercise restraint? When you know your characters: who they are, what makes them tick and where they are going, it is easy to create solid character development arcs irrespective of the number of episodes. Our challenge was having to climax the series in episode 10, instead of the usual 13-episode structure.
It’ s an interesting mix of industry veterans, like Connie and Bonnie, and the younger generation of Mbali, Minnie and Boity – what was it like on set? I loved going to set. Cast and crew were always happy about the project and excited to be part of something like Rockville. I have to give credit to the director of the show, Johnny Barbuzano, and the crew. They were giving their heart and soul to the project daily and it was amazing to watch them effectively create the show.
You’ re pretty vocal about the standard of South African TV. What needs to happen before things get right again? Worldwide the television landscape is changing rapidly. Producers and show runners are now making content that is more risqué and a bit daring. We haven’ t reached that point in South Africa and I think that is where we need to go. We need to move away from creating content that is supposed to appeal to every person with a TV, which just strips away the DNA of a TV show. A TV drama will not appeal to everyone and that is okay. Shows like Homeland, Game Of Thrones and Mad Men have become successful worldwide because they don’ t try to cater for everyone, but target a specific audience, and I think that is what we should be doing.
What is it that Rockville is bringing to the TV industry that will get viewers hooked? I think at its core Rockville is a bold and daring drama that delivers on high-concept, instead of the mundane low-scale drama that we have seen over the years on local TV. I believe that viewers will appreciate the boldness on which the main premise of the show is interrogated and will be entertained by the show.
writersguildsa. org | 69