Dutch television icon André van Duin and co-host Janny van der Heijden have suffered a rare primetime ratings failure on NPO 1 with their new Sunday evening program Menagerie. Media columnist Angela de Jong has publicly criticized the show, going as far as arguing in New Revu that the executive responsible for greenlighting the series deserves to lose their job.
Primetime ratings collapse hits NPO 1
A promising start followed by a steep decline
The Sunday night program launched on NPO 1 with nearly a million viewers, generating high expectations for the popular duo. However, the show quickly lost hundreds of thousands of viewers as it faced serious network competition. According to Angela de Jong, the steep drop in ratings confirms a fundamental flaw in the production. She noted that once serious rivalries appeared in the time slot, the viewing figures collapsed entirely.
Scathing review targets content and time slot
While De Jong spared André van Duin from her critique—praising his undeniable talent and arguing that he single-handedly kept the show from sinking further—she offered a scathing review of the show’s content.
She stated that the broadcast fell well below acceptable primetime standards and questioned the decision to place the format in a prominent Sunday evening slot. She expressed confusion over the target audience, questioning whether the program was intended for children, and argued it did not belong in its scheduled time slot.
Calls for executive accountability
De Jong’s assessment included a call for administrative accountability. She maintained that whoever decided the format was suitable for primetime on NPO 1 failed to think the decision through properly, suggesting that person deserves to lose their job.
Reputation intact despite the setback
Despite the failure of Menagerie, De Jong expressed confidence that the setback will not damage André van Duin’s longstanding reputation, emphasizing that the star simply delivered his best effort for a format that fundamentally did not work.