Neighbours, the recently cancelled Australian soap show, will soon return to our screens! Only a few months prior, soap opera fans from all over the world were bidding tearful farewell to the popular Australian series. The long-running show had seemingly come to an end as creators Fremantle Australia discovered they were unable to find funding after British broadcaster Channel 5 withdrew sponsorship (they had covered the majority of the show’s costs since 2008).
A-listers who got their big break on the programme, including as Kylie Minogue, Margot Robbie, and Guy Pearce, lined up for cameos in a suitably massive, poignant farewell episode that aired in late July and put an end to 37 years of different antics between the numerous Ramsay Street residents.
Imagine the fans’ delight when it was announced late last week that Amazon Freevee and Fremantle had reached an agreement to renew the series. This is what we do know.
Residents: The Plot
For those who are unaware, Amazon The station once known as IMDb TV (the name was changed early this year) is now known as Freevee, and it now airs everything from the original run of The X-Files to the 1960s Batman TV series. The coming-of-age comedy High School, which debuted last month, as well as reality TV programmes like Hollywood Houselift with Jeff Lewis, Jeff Daniels’ American Rust, and next month’s America’s Test Kitchen: The Next Generation are examples of the channel’s recent efforts to spruce up its lineup of classic TV. Since Neighbours is the channel’s first attempt at a soap opera, it is likely designed to fit within this pattern.
It’s too soon to discuss story details, though, as the news of the revival only just broke. Freevee has repeatedly referred to the upcoming Neighbours season as a “relaunch” or “revival,” not a reboot or reinterpretation. This suggests that the same families and characters that appeared in the show before to its summer conclusion will return.
The cast and crew are neighbours.
Even if it seems like the framework for the relaunch will be the same as it was before, that does not necessarily mean that all of the cast members will make a comeback. The news that Stefan Dennis, Alan Fletcher, Ryan Moloney, and Jackie Woodburne, who serve as series regulars in the roles of Paul Robinson, Karl Kennedy, Toadie Rebecchi, and Susan Kennedy, respectively, would return was included in Fremantle’s announcement.
But after that, nothing is certain. Takaya Honda (David Tanaka) tweeted that the cast needed “time to process” after learning of the revival, joining other cast members in their shock. It’s possible that some cast members have already landed recurring roles in other productions as a result of the series’ unexpected revival.
Although the writing staff has split up, executive producer Jason Herbison and series regular Margaret Wilson continue to contribute to Australia’s other major soap opera, Home and Away.
Other Information We Are Aware Of: Sets and Productions
The creators, however, struck lucky in all the right ways. Backlots were abandoned to nature and the sets of the show were struck after it appeared that the show was over. The sets have remained in storage, although executive producer Jason Herbison stated in a Digital Spy interview that they can be restored. At the same time, the show will relocate to the Network 10 studios in Nunawading, where interior sequences were previously filmed.
This is an impressive turnaround for a facility whose future was in doubt after the soap opera ended. Beyond filming a few sequences for the upcoming British-Australian thriller series Riptide, featuring actors David Berry from Outlander, Jo Joyner from Doctor Who, and Peter O’Brien from Neighbours, no use had been determined for the structure. The possibility of demolishing at least a portion of the complex has received extensive coverage in the summer in the Australian news.
