The last season of 'Hotel' to broadcast in 2022

Certain things in life will always stay standing. A Blue Bull supporter and has love for his team. A cockroach in a nuclear attack. South Africans’ talent to always see the humour even in the direst situations. 

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And then there is the Fransen Hotel. Through one crisis after the other. Mismanagement. Yes, even the Fransen Hotel survived through a pandemic. Well, standing well enough for the fifth season of the popular mockumentary 'Hotel'. 

But how did Jony, Thomas, and the team manage to do that? And where does Ferdie fit in? Didn’t he pack his bags in the last series? 

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All these questions will be answered when 'Hotel' returns to kykNET in January 2022 for another season. The main cast is all returning. James Borthwick is Ferdie, but this time around he is not the manager of the hotel - he is a permanent guest after his emigration to New Zealand didn’t go according to plan. 

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Jony (Simoné Pretorius) is the new manager of the Fransen and Thomas (Beer Adriaanse) has his hands full with an auditor who not only has her sights on the hotel but on Thomas as well. Brenda (Martelize Kolver) is struggling with nausea, terrible mood swings, and the constant need to hug everybody. The only thing that is as it always was, is the love between Danny (Schalk Bezuidenhout) and Malanie (Mila Guy) ... and the fact that Jaap (De Klerk Oelofse) is still unlucky in love. Also returning is Ivan Botha as the hapless Manie and Bennie Fourie as Dodgy Mike.

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According to Bennie, who is one of the creators of the series, the fifth season will also be the last one. “This was a crazy adventure – the popularity of the series and characters surpassed our wildest expectations.” 

Producer Scharl van der Merwe says the team has a couple of cards up their sleeves that they hope will make fans of the show curious about the new series. “We don’t want to announce too soon who will make an appearance, but I am sure it will be a great surprise to viewers.” 

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“We had to postpone the shooting of the new series for two years, so we are more than ready to start,” says Bennie. “It is a joy to have all the characters together again and we are working very hard to bring viewers some well-deserved laughter.”

The fifth series is being filmed at the moment at the Kleinkaap Hotel in Tswane. The writing team is Bennie Fourie, Beer Adriaanse, and Ryan Metcalfe as well as newcomer Claudia van Zyl who joined the team. As with the previous series, Bennie is in the director’s chair. 

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Image Credit: Supplied/ Petri Schoeman