Season 4
The Bulletin is restored back to its former gutsy independent roots with all its drama and intrigue as Season 4 returns on SABC3, 10 years after the third season aired.
Originally created by Mail & Guardian editor Anton Harber, Market Theatre director Malcolm Purkey and film maker Jann Turner, the show is set in the newsroom of a struggling Independent newspaper.
The series originally ran for three seasons from 2005-2006. This fourth season is set eight years down the line, and crime reporter Benny Jacobs has taken over the editorship, wrenching the paper back to its fierce investigative roots after many years as a tabloid.
The cast of news staff surrounding him are all new and features an almost completely different cast (the only remaining original cast member is Jody Abrahams in the riole of Benny Jacobs).
New actors to join the cast this season include Nokuthula Ledwaba (Umlilo, Rhythm City), Nicola Hanekom (Heartlines, Isidingo) Armand Aucamp (Sterlopers, Bloedbroers) and Masasa Mbangeni (Scandal!, Thola).
Now expanded into an hour-long format, the fourth season tells multiple stories grappling with issues surrounding journalism today.
Stories include a photographer who digitally alters a photo and comes to regret it, a sports journo who befriends a top athlete only to discover he's a dope cheat, a news editor who buries a story which involves a family member, and the battle for dominance between print and digital media.
A serial killer storyline which frames the whole season kicks off when the journalists discover that a series of murders are linked by the fact that all the victims appeared in the old edition of The Bulletin.
They delve into the dusty basement archive to trawl the back issues for clues as to who the Killer is and why he's taken an interest in The Bulletin.
The Bulletin Staff
Benny Jacobs - Editor (Jody Abrahams)
Khanya Langa - News Editor (Masasa Mbangeni)
Jana Brink - Staff Photographer (Nicola Hanekom)
Leah Gumede - I.T. / Webcast Contractor (Nokuthula Ledwaba)
C.J. Swart - Columnist / ARTS (Armand Aucamp)
Trevor "Biggy T" Dlamini- Sports Editor (Denzel Edgar)
Tebogo Ramolang - Investigative Reporter (Thabo Rametsi)
Produced by Quizzical Pictures (previously known as Curious Pictures), the head writer of Hard Copy was Darrel Bristow-Bovey, with original music by The Junior Musicians' Yacht Club. The series producer was Tim Greene and the executive producers were Harriet Gavshon, David Jammy and Mpho Mosimane.