e.tv has announced that its long-running daily youth drama, Backstage, is in its final season and that the last episode will be aired at the end of June. Bronwyn Keene-Young, e.tv’s channel director says, “When it launched on 1 May 2000, Backstage was e.tv’s first locally produced drama and we have seen it mature into one of e.tv’s signature programmes. This has been a tough decision for us to make and we are sad to be saying good-bye to this show. However, modern youth culture is dynamic and ever evolving, and it is the right time to adapt to these fresh challenges as well as the changing television market”. Backstage is produced by Bottom Line Productions, and dramatist Deon Opperman says, “Bottom Line Productions and e.tv have mutually agreed that it is the right time for a new show to be developed that will be able to aggressively compete in this prime time slot.” Backstage has played a crucial role in launching the careers of many local young actors and it has helped broaden the skills of established actors. An announcement will be made shortly by e.tv with regards to the future plans for this prime time slot.