Following the announcement by the South African Broadcasting Commission that the longest-running Afrikaans soapie, 7de Laan, will be canceled by the end of this year, dedicated views started a #Red7deLaan #Save7deLaan petition.

This is the second time a 7de Laan petition on change.org has gone viral.

The petition currently accumulated over 24 000 signatures as fans plead with the SABC, e.tv, or kykNET to save the TV show which they call “a beacon of hope”. Many have come forward saying the show taught them how to speak Afrikaans, as it is aired with English subtitles.

READ MORE: Petition – #Red7deLaan/#Save7deLaan

The public broadcaster informed the crew and cast that the Danie Odendaal Productions show was canceled last Monday. This is due to the show being too expensive to keep on air as it is not meeting its targeted viewership.

7de Laan had 1.19 million viewers in June, making it the most-watched Afrikaans show on South African television and the second-most-watched show on SABC 2 after Muvhango with 1.4 million viewers.

First viral petition to save 7de Laan

The SABC’s efforts to remove the show from the channel have been an ongoing thing. At the start of last year, the SABC announced that it would cut the show from five episodes per week to three episodes. This caused a public outcry which also led to a petition that accumulated thousands of signatures and comments from concerned viewers.

The SABC was soon made aware of the viral petition and said it noted the response from viewers. The petition was then deemed successful as the reduction in weekly episodes soon returned back to five per week.

When the cancellation of the show was announced, the producer of 7de Laan, Thandi Ramathesele, said it was an honor and privilege to produce a show that had touched the lives of so many South Africans for over two decades.

READ MORE: 7de Laan comes to an end after 23 years