| Goede tijden, slechte tijden | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Soap opera |
| Created by | Reg Watson |
| Based on | The Restless Years |
| Written by | Rohan Gottschalk (Head writer) |
| Starring | Present cast |
| No. of seasons | 34 |
| No. of episodes | 6,859 (as of January 18, 2024) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Peter Römer |
| Running time | 23 min. w/o commercials 30 min. w/ commercials |
| Production companies | Endemol Grundy |
| Original release | |
| Network | RTL 4 |
| Release | 1 October 1990 – present |
Goede tijden, slechte tijden (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɣudə ˈtɛidə(n) ˈslɛxtə ˈtɛidə(n)], lit. 'Good times, bad times'), also known as GTST or simply Goede tijden, is the longest-running Dutch soap opera, which began on 1 October 1990 on RTL4. The programme was the first daily (every workday) soap in the Netherlands and Europe. The soap is produced by Joop van den Ende and to date over 6,300 episodes[1] have been broadcast. It was initially based on the Australian soap The Restless Years, however it switched to original scripts during the third season and onwards. GTST is broadcast Monday to Friday at 20:00, and became available on demand via streaming platform Videoland from 2015.
At its peak, the show drew around 1.5 million viewers daily, in a country of just over 15 million people at the time. Nowadays, the show still draws over a million views per episode – it is watched linearly by around 800.000 people, with an additional 300.000 viewers on Videoland.[2] After 33 years, it remains the highest-rated soap opera in the Netherlands.
The soap mainly revolves around the lives of the families Alberts, Sanders, De Jong, Van Houten and Bouwhuis. It all takes place in the fictional town of Meerdijk. Like any other soap, marriage, divorce, kidnapping and business are a few of the ingredients of GTST, although in recent years, GTST has become known for writing and producing more controversial storylines. GTST is also known for having a summer break each year, ending a season sometime in June with a cliffhanger, only to resume three months later in September. Although the early cliffhangers often revolved around family drama, later cliffhangers have often revolved around disasters and unexpected twists.
Many former actors who once were part of the cast are now well known in the Netherlands and Europe, such as Katja Schuurman, Reinout Oerlemans and Antonie Kamerling.
In 2014, a gay marriage took place in the soap opera, this was the first time this happened in a Dutch TV-show.[3]
In 2016, the show got a spin-off called Nieuwe Tijden (English: New Times), which follows some of the younger characters from GTST and some new characters as they go off to college. Nieuwe Tijden was cancelled in 2018.[4]
Cast
Present characters
| Actor | Character | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Thijs Boermans | Jonathan Seegers | 2023–present |
| Kees Boot | Luuk Bos | 2022–present |
| Sophie Bouquet | Merel Verduyn | 2019–present |
| Tamara Brinkmann | Saskia Verduyn–Visser | 2019–present |
| Ingmar | Steef Verduyn | 2022–present |
| Caroline De Bruijn | Janine Elschot | 1992–present |
| Everon Jackson Hooi | Bing Mauricius | 2005–present |
| Noa Jacobus | Nola Sanders | 2022–present |
| Cas Jansen | Julian Verduyn | 1996–1999, 2019–present |
| Johnny Kraaijkamp | Henk Visser | 2020–present |
| Jette van der Meij | Laura Visser–Selmhorst | 1990–present |
| Bas Muijs | Stefano Sanders | 1999–2005, 2009, 2014, 2020, 2022–present |
| Ferri Somogyi | Rik de Jong | 1995–2004, 2007–present |
| Marly van der Velden | Nina Mauricius–Sanders | 2005–present |
| Erik de Vogel | Ludo Sanders | 1996–present |
| Bertrie Wierenga | Shanti de Jong–Vening | 2019–present |
| Noa Zwan | Demi Verduyn | 2019–present |
| Babette van Veen | Linda Dekker | 1990–1998, 2005–2006, 2015–present |
Recurring cast
| Actor | Character | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Bart Peereboom | Marcel Boeve | 2000–present |
| Dennis Honhoff | Barry Lansink | 2009–present |
| Michael de Roos | Alex de Boer | 2014–present |
| Various child actors | Manu Mauricius | 2015–present |
| Various child actors | Max Mauricius | 2018–present |
| Various child actors | Tom Verduyn | 2021–present |
Original cast members
| Actor | Character | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Antonie Kamerling | Peter Kelder | 1990–1993, 1995 |
| Reinout Oerlemans | Arnie Alberts (#1) | 1990–1996 |
| Joost Buitenweg | Rien Hoogendoorn | 1990–1992 |
| Frédérique Huydts | Annette van Thijn | 1990–1992 |
| Babette van Veen | Linda Dekker | 1990–1998, 2005–2006, 2015–2021 |
| Isa Hoes | Myriam van der Pol | 1990–1994 |
| Ingeborg Wieten | Suzanne Balk | 1990–2000 |
| Marlous Fluitsma | Helen Helmink (#1) | 1990–1991 |
| Rick Engelkes | Simon Dekker | 1990–1994, 1997–1998, 2003 |
| Jette van der Meij | Laura Alberts | 1990–present |
| Wilbert Gieske | Robert Alberts | 1990–2008, 2015–2016, 2019–2020 |
| Wim Zomer | Daniel Daniel | 1990–1999 |
| Inge Ipenburg | Martine Hafkamp | 1990–1994, 2003–2005, 2017 |
| Hein van Beem | Nico Stenders | 1990–1991 |
| Antoinette van Belle | Stephanie Kreeft | 1990–1994 |
| Dieter Jansen | Jan van Ede | 1990–1991 |
| Djuna Hougee | Petra van Ede | 1990–1991 |
| Carola Gijsbers van Wijk | Wil de Smet | 1990–1998 |
See also
- Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten, a German version
- List of longest-serving soap opera actors
References
- ↑ "Press Release: 5000ste aflevering: 'GTST' trakteert kijker op gelijktijdige, extra aflevering via second screen app".
- ↑ "RTL 4 neemt nog geen afscheid van Goede Tijden Slechte Tijden". Mediacourant. 27 June 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- ↑ "Dutch television show to feature first ever same-sex marriage and the Backstreet Boys - PinkNews · PinkNews". www.pinknews.co.uk. 21 January 2014. Retrieved 2019-02-22.
- ↑ "Geen vervolg voor GTST-spinoff Nieuwe Tijden". Televizier. 1 September 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2022.