This week’s return episodes of Neighbours featured brand-new opening titles, but the current season had two distinct versions.
The renowned title sequence was absent from the Monday, September 18 premiere of the beloved soap opera’s comeback edition, but it has since appeared at the beginning of each episode.
Astute watchers quickly noticed that the title sequence is being shown in slightly different ways to viewers in the UK and Australia.
In the opening scene of Amazon Freevee, the new Varga-Murphy family is shown having fun on a boat trip during a day out, however in the Australian version, which airs on Channel 10, the family is shown hanging out at The 82 bar and diner.
Another distinction is that in the Australian version, Sam Young and Jane Harris are shown outside Harold’s Café, whereas in the Freevee opener, they are seen seated close to Lassiters Lake.
The remaining photos are identical, however the order in which they occur varies between the two versions. The Australian opening also includes sharper close-ups of the actors.
Bosses at Neighbours told Digital Spy that making two versions for the various markets was a conscious decision.
“We have always made slightly different versions of the show for Australian and overseas markets,” executive producer Jason Herbison told us.
“We hope that these differences will be a fun curiosity for the fans, and you will see more updates from time to time.”
The first four episodes of Neighbours’ comeback season, which takes place two years after the events of the July 2022 finale, have now broadcast. The episodes explore life for the Ramsay Street inhabitants.
Next week, the new season will resume, with new episodes dropping every day from Monday through Thursday.
