Scandal! head writer and creative producer Grace Mahlaba has managed to stay on top of her game with intriguing and relatable storylines throughout the years.
Scandal! this year will be celebrating 20 years of TV and one of the most recent highlights of the show was the Maseko wedding, which took place on Valentine’s week and drew in a staggering 4,2-million viewers.
With SABC 1’s weekday drama series Skeem Saam having shifted to the same timeslot as Scandal!, many believe one of the shows will see a drop in viewership numbers.
Speaking to Sunday World, Mahlaba who is also an actress, said the timeslot move by Skeem Saam is not a threat because the shows are totally different.
Scandal! followers know their taste
“When you know yourself, you know yourself. I believe that the people who watch us know us and have identified themselves their taste. If we keep dishing the dish that they came for, I think we will be fine.”
“Competition has always been there for us; it is just that SABC had different shows on the timeslot, but we had the staying power. Time will tell if we are confident of the stories that we tell and if we are not going to sleep or slumber. Our worst-case scenario is that we will have to share the audience,” said Mahlaba.
Mahlaba who has been with Scandal! for 14 years, shared that she never thought she would last more than a year.
“I came here to learn what happens behind the scenes. After I finished Backstage, I wanted to learn more about writing and where it is going in terms of women. I had been worried for years because I felt like the people who were writing for these female characters were a bit out of touch.
“I just happen to be lucky that I speak, read and write all South African languages, so that for me was the biggest thing, and Scandal! was too English. If we want to reach these people, let’s reach them in our languages.”
Why Mahlaba stayed longer
Thereafter, Mahlaba stayed longer on the show, did translation, and language advising, and had a lot in the mix as a black person at that time.
“I could relate to past time, present time, and future, which worked in my favour, and they liked what I shared, so I stayed longer. I joined the writer’s room as a story creator, content creator, and character creator and stayed with the writing team, creating these amazing stories and families.”
“Every language lives in this show because, from casting, we take into consideration that we are in South Africa in Newtown. When you are on Bree Street [in Joburg CBD], the chances of you speaking one language the whole day are very rare. You meet all types of people from all [walks of life.”
