The iconic television program Kvadratura kruga will stop airing on RTS after nearly 25 years. Branko Stanković, the creator of the well-known show, told Danas that he is not retiring and that Kvadratura kruga will continue if any “normal” television stations are interested in broadcasting it.
Stanković explained to Danas that he was offered a severance package, which is the reason why the program is ending its run on RTS.
“I wasn’t working under a freelance contract; I was a full-time employee, and this is an author-created program produced by RTS. I was offered a severance package. I submitted the request because I wanted to purchase the apartment I currently rent from RTS. For a 37-square-meter apartment, I was presented with a bill of €61,000, without any discounts or benefits,” Stanković said.
He added that he has no other way to secure such a large amount of money except by using at least part of the severance payment.
“As for the current situation at RTS, all I can say is: God help them. I have no reason to say anything else at this moment because I haven’t completed this entire process yet,” Stanković emphasized.
For now, he does not know whether Kvadratura kruga will be broadcast on another television station, but he is not ruling out that possibility.
“If there are serious television networks interested, there is no reason for the program not to continue, because it is an author’s project. I’m not retiring yet; it’s not the time for that. I still have the strength, the will, and plenty of ideas, so if there are interested broadcasters, I’m ready to continue with the show. The final episode on RTS airs tomorrow, and we’ll see what the future brings,” Stanković said.
As a reminder, Branko Stanković is one of the few RTS employees who publicly supported Serbian students. He was among the first public figures to back the university blockades and the student movement in December 2024. At the time, he addressed the students with the following message:
“Dear students, you are the pride of this country and one of the few bright spots in this overwhelming darkness, where many wander in search of a way out. In a country where everything is collapsing, you, together with your professors, are the supporting pillars and the strongest reinforcement preventing everything from completely falling apart in this suffering nation. You are proof that at least a grain of morality, honor, and integrity still remains in Serbia—values that I have tried to elevate through my work all these years and present as a standard for life and endurance. Remain what you are: honorable, incorruptible, independent, and self-aware, because only in that way will you be able to honestly build your future and your lives.”
During the student blockade of RTS, Stanković also stated that “there will be no filming while some colleagues are calling the people a mob,” a remark widely interpreted as referring to then-presenter and now editor-in-chief of RTS’s news program, Bojana Mlađenović.
Stanković also participated in the “Serbia Against Violence” protests, which were organized following the May 2023 tragedies—the mass shootings at Ribnikar Elementary School and in Mladenovac. Two years earlier, during the height of the environmental protests, he dedicated an episode of Kvadratura kruga to the Rio Tinto issue.
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Source: Danas, Foto: Nova Tv / Da sam ja neko