Rian van Heerden gets into bed with Afrikaans sexuality

Whatever you’ve been told about Afrikaans folk and their sexual preferences – scrap it. The words and phrases “conservative”, “prim and proper”, “vanilla” and “unadventurous” are given the latex boot in Showmax’s record-breaking series Sex In Afrikaans Season 1. The six-part show, which delves into many facets of the sex industry and sexual exploration, has been welcomed by viewers and industry experts alike, with the show busting the charts for the most first-day views of any Afrikaans show before it – including the murder mystery Showmax original Devilsdorp.

But the road from mere concept to the small screen wasn’t necessarily a simple one. With long-standing notions that sex is simply not something to spoken about openly, and questions about whether the South African audience was indeed ready for a show this provocative, it was up to producer Rian van Heerden and his determined crew from Provoco to seduce both Showmax and its subscribers.

Read on as he tells us a bit more about what inspired this raunchy show and why every South African should watch it (even if it’s while hiding behind a cushion, red-faced and, at times, speechless). “This whole perception that Afrikaans people are a conservative bunch of people – and unfortunately that is the perception – is completely false. It’s definitely not how Afrikaans people live their lives,” insists Rian.

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In bed with Rian

When did you realise this is a show that needed to be made?

“Probably about two years ago we thought about this for the first time. And it was inspired by another show we did called Liefde Sonder Grense on kykNET (DStv Channel 144). It was a show that specifically focussed on love, no matter what, and while we were busy with the show, we met a few interesting characters that I thought opened the door to more. There’s more to this story than what we’re just hearing on the set of Liefde Sonder Grense. So that sort of got the thought process going.”

How did Showmax react when you approached them with this series pitch?

“With concern! But part of my job is that I need to be a diplomat and an ambassador. So, I needed to convince them that they’re in good hands and safe hands with us. We have handled many controversial topics before in our other shows (Like Liefde Sonder Grense and Wat Is Die Waarheid?) and we handled it in such a way that viewers always leave our episodes more informed. And that was always the main focus with Sex In Afrikaans. You watch and you go, “Okay, well now I know a bit more and I can make better choices because of the information I now received.”

The show was billed “the most controversial local series South Africans have ever seen”. Was there as much controversy as you had anticipated?

“The opening day was massive! So, it was clear that people were talking about it. What was interesting to me, though, is that although there was a massive conversation going on, you did not see it on social media. And I think it’s because the moment someone types something, then they sort of admit they watched Sex In Afrikaans. And it was like people were not very comfortable saying “I watched Sex in Afrikaans”, but they were certainly watching. In any other country, I believe the show would’ve trended on Twitter. But that just shows that there’s still a level of shame around sex – and that’s the whole point!”

What did you find most interesting about the conversations around the show?

“It was ironic to me that, at the beginning, the discussions about the show weren’t happening in the Afrikaans media. The show was completely ignored by Afrikaans media. There were a few mentions about the show, that it was coming, but the moment the show arrived there was a quiet. But the fact that Afrikaans media ignored it at first showed us that there are some themes that even Afrikaans media are not willing to discuss. Maybe because it’s going to affront their readers. And I think this was a clear indication to us that we were on the right track and how brave kykNET and Showmax were to fund this show. It's a revolutionary step!”

We certainly had a few surprising moments, but what caught you by surprise while producing Sex In Afrikaans?

It was actually the topic of swinging, featured in Episode 5. During Liefde Sonder Grense, we had a few couples on the show that were swingers. That was the first time I discovered that swinging was a big thing in the Afrikaans community. But when we got to the point of actually producing Sex In Afrikaans, only then did we discover how big it is – specifically in the residential estates of Pretoria! It was a shock to the system. And the thing is, no one wants to show their face. So someone will openly tell you they’re into BDSM, but swinging is still so scandalous! Ja, a big surprise to me to say the least.

Did you always envision the show in its current, panel-driven format?

“Sex In Afrikaans was supposed to be a different show. Our initial idea was that there would be television screens on the wall and this would be directly linked to an individual that represents a certain segment of the Afrikaans community. And what we wanted was there would be a bed in front of them and we would discuss certain sexual matters. And at any time, they can switch off the camera. That was the initial idea behind Sex In Afrikaans. We wanted to see, over a couple of episodes, would they keep on watching or would they stay away? Would they come back? The initial idea was to have around 40 people, but then we decided we needed to narrow it down. And in my mind, I had very much the AA kind of scenario – where everyone sits in a circle and people discuss very personal matters. So, I could see people sitting in a circle and having these very open discussions. But now, how to find them?”

So, how did you find them?

“I started the conversation on my radio show. My listeners, I think, are very progressive. I thought my listeners have faith in me, and I have faith in them. So, because of the relationship we built up over the years, let me use this radio platform and see if we can find people who would be willing to have this conversation. I invited people to contact me. And this took several rounds of trying to find people. Eventually, one by one, people would start contacting me.”

How do you convince someone to talk on national television about their sexual fantasies?

“It was a huge endeavour! We saw the couples and individuals personally, had a chat with them to put them at ease. We said to them the idea is that eventually someone needs to talk about it and that this is an opportunity to bring sex and sexuality out into the open. So, eventually we got the group together, but it took us a while. But the convincing part was the hardest part – reminding people that they can trust us, that we don’t want to make them look bad. But they will be pioneers. “

Tell us about the day Sex In Afrikaans launched? Were you nervous?

I” think you can imagine now that no one knew how the viewers would respond because we never had anything like this. So, it cannot be compared to anything. Up to the day before the launch, I still said to someone “I have no idea how this one is going to roll out”. However, we did our research, we had the best of the best on this show, and when we delivered the show we were confident that this the best we could do and that this show will definitely move thinking about sex in Afrikaans forward. Which it did!”

Have you kept in touch with any of the panellists? How are they doing?

“Rea has gone back to her career as a singer. I think Rea’s in two minds about Sex In Afrikaans! But I ran into Justin and Neil and the two of them looked so happy! Because they had their reservations as well, as you can imagine (with Neil coming from a highly orthodox Mormon background). But it is clear to me that that couple specifically is much happier. I also spoke to Carl and Reina and the two of them are just elated. Of course, Kobus and Erika – I spent a whole night with them and, as a couple, they’ve grown closer together. Obviously, Paul is no longer with us, but Brady and Tracy-Lynn were just so happy that they could be part of this. He said to me as well that, because they are “pastoorkinders” (pastor’s children), they were concerned at the beginning. But it played out exactly the way it was meant to play out for them. So, everything is going just fine with our couples.”

You can stream all six sizzling episodes of Sex In Afrikaans now on Showmax, right now.

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