Local newsroom drama Hard Copy is back on TV!

Johannesburg - After eight years off SA screens, the struggling tabloid newspaper The Bulletin is back in business in the fourth season of the drama series Hard Copy, but this time the newspaper is more about investigative journalism than tabloid.

The series originally ran for three seasons between 2006 and 2008 and the new season (starting Monday 3 October on SABC3 at 21:00) is set eight years later.

Crime reporter Benny Jacobs (Jodie Abrahams) has taken over the editorship, wrenching the paper back to its fierce investigative roots after many years as a tabloid.

Killer storylines

Stories this season 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 doping cheat, a news editor who buries a story which involves a family member, the battle for dominance between print and digital media, and a serial killer...

The storyline which frames the whole series 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.

Hot new cast

Also joining the cast for season 4 are some well-known faces, like Nokuthula Ledwaba (Umlilo, Rhythm City), Nicola Hanekom (Heartlines, Binnelanders) Armand Aucamp (Die Boekklub, Ballade vir 'n Enkeling) and Masasa Mbangeni (Scandal!, The Dying Screams of The Moon).

Plus, the episodes have been super-sized from 30 minutes to 60-minute episodes.

For more on Hard Copy, get the latest issue of tvplus magazine, on sale now!