Neighbours, the long-standing British favourite following the residents of Ramsay Street in Erinsborough, Australia is returning. After a 37-year run, Neighbours was cancelled earlier this year. The revelation prompted swarms of old stars to return for the final week of episodes. Now, it is being revived by Amazon Freevee and will return to TV screens in 2023.
Amazon Freevee is a new free branch available on Amazon Prime Video, Google TV, and Apple TV. As an extra free service, it does not require a subscription, but it is ad-supported. Freevee is also known for original shows like Judy Justice (a spin-off of the 25-year running show Judge Judy) and Bosch: Legacy (another spin-off of the book-turned-show, Bosch). All fingers point to a successful run for Neighbours on this new streaming platform, particularly with the likes of these former successes finding new homes on Amazon Freevee. As well as original productions, it will be hosting older productions like Hell’s Kitchen and Parks and Recreation.
Shot in Victoria and Melbourne, Neighbours was one of Australia’s top soaps that were a hit with British audiences. As the longest-running drama series in Australian television history, producing stars like Kylie Minogue and Margot Robbie, Neighbours is known for being the stepping-stone to Hollywood, so it is no surprise that many guests came back to commemorate their beginnings. The likes of Guy Pearce and Jason Donavan were just a few of the past cast members who returned.
Changes to Neighbours’ network is familiar territory for the production team. Seven Network hosted the first season in 1985, whilst Network 10 took over for the second season. In the 2010s, 10 Peach took over for 12 years before Network 10 became the network to host Neighbours until the end—or so we thought. Amazon Freevee is just one of many networks hosting the beloved Neighbours, so rather than shock over it, fans will likely be more focussed querying the cast set to return.
Words by Annabel Smith
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