Afrikaans tannies on the fence as medical drama ‘Hartklop’ airs

Countless Afrikaans viewers tuned in on Tuesday night to see what kykNET’s newest medical drama series, Hartklop is all about.

With a star-studded cast which includes the likes of Simoné Pretorius, Marlee van der Merwe, Carla Classen, David Louw, Oros Mampofu, Leandie du Randt, Dawid Minnaar and Christel van den Bergh, to name only a few, expectations were high.

ALSO SEE: kykNET to launch first Afrikaans medical drama ‘Hartklop’

Episode one starts off with a blonde woman (Leandie du Randt) waking up in her car with blood stains on her shirt and a nasty bruise at the corner of her mouth. She is clearly running late for work and tries to stich up her mouth and hide the bruise with make-up before she heads into the hospital.

She is Dr Jolene Joubert, a fourth-year doctor working at Beyers Naudé Academic Hospital, a state hospital in Johannesburg and the top training hospital in the country.

Next, we are introduced to Dr. Elani Breytenbach (Simoné Pretorius) and Dr. Karima Salie (Carla Classen) who studied together at Tukkies and are starting their internship as first year doctors together at the Beyers Naudé Academic Hospital.

Elani’s first day as an intern doesn’t quite go according to plan.

The young woman, who was brimming over with excitement early morning when she picked up her friend Karima for their first day, faces several challenges on her first day at the hospital including fainting when faced with a very unusual case involving a woman who looks pregnant, but isn’t.

Elani’s day gets even worse when she bumps into clinical associate, Dr Louw van Onselen (David Louw) who she thought was very ‘sexy’ until he embarrasses her in front of Karima.

The two women instantly decide he is a pig and not deserving of their time or attention.

As in all hospital dramas there is a forbidden love that takes shape in the busy halls of the hospital as exhausted doctor’s and staff try and make it through their shifts.

Dr Louw and Anke Dempsey, a nurse in the emergency unit, are one of the couples who are having an illicit affair during working hours.

But as we have seen in many other hospital dramas, love affairs chop and change as new staff start at a hospital and new friendships are formed…

How long will Dr Louw be willing to wait around for Anke, whose husband ‘gate-crashed’ their date at the Bowls Club after work, especially after sharing an intimate kiss with first-year intern Karima, who sees a softer side of the man who embarrassed her friend earlier that day.

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How Hartklop compares to Grey’s Anatomy

There are several similarities between Hartklop and Grey’s Anatomy in how the show is introduced to viewers; the interns starting on their first day, friendships and frenemies being formed, and interns making blunders.

A big difference between Hartklop and Grey’s Anatomy is the doctors at the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital had access to state-of-the-art equipment and plenty of hands to assist when needed.

In Hartklop, the show plays off against the backdrop of a government hospital as the producers of the show wanted to give the series an authentic South African representation, but also because that is where all South Africa’s trainee doctors and nurses are trained.

Said writer Zoë Laband: ‘’We have some of the best medical schools in the world, and even though training in a SA hospital is gruelling, it is still a world class education, and we wanted to reflect that. Our local doctors are more than just doctors – they are superheroes. International military doctors come to SA to train in our hospitals as it is equivalent to working in a war zone! Being a doctor in SA is not easy, and it absolutely has consequences on your personal life. It involves a lot of sacrifice and hardship, and we wanted to reflect that in our stories and create characters that are both extraordinary and flawed.”

Reactions after episode 1 of Hartklop:

While we were left quite intrigued after episode one of this new medical drama series, not all viewers felt the same.

Some viewers said they couldn’t get a feel for it immediately and will need to see more episodes before deciding whether they like it. Others couldn’t stop raving about the show.

Below are some comments from viewers shared on kykNET’s FB page:

Catch Hartklop every Tuesday at 20:00 on kykNET (DStv channel 144). Episodes will also be available on Catch Up.