Rumours on Neighbours’ future
On the eve of celebrating its 6000th episode, the rumours on the future of Neighbours are flying thick and fast.
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under News
On the eve of celebrating its 6000th episode, the rumours on the future of Neighbours are flying thick and fast.
This week the show slipped to as low as 534,000 viewers on Thursday.
There has been some speculation TEN could shift Sports Tonight to early evenings, but TEN publicity has dismissed the idea as part of regular rumour-mongering that periodically rolls around.
Another whisper is that the soap could switch to TEN’s new digital channel next year.
But under current regulations, TEN would win no drama points for doing so. Drama must run on primary channels first in order to qualify.
“There’s certainly a lot of speculation in the landscape, and, somewhere amongst all this, will be the truth, and the truth will be known when we’re ready to announce something,” Programming Chief David Mott tells the Sunday Telegraph.
“Neighbours does need some work, and we’re hoping we can get there on that. I can say that Neighbours will be part of the TEN family going forward, and there’s a deal we’re talking to Fremantle about at the moment.”
Cast and network will celebrate both the 25th anniversary and 6000 episodes with a party later this month – a record for an Aussie drama.
Source: Sunday Telegraph
Share
- Tagged with Neighbours, Sports Tonight
56 Responses
Does anyone know if they are airing a television special to celebrate 25 years??
And just to throw my 2cents n, the Toadie/Steph/Baby storyline Has been stretched out way too long, but I’ve been watching the show on and off for 23 years so I hope Ten dont axe it, it can always improve given the chance.
@ vinnie: I agree, The Simpsons generates zero revenue and although it is cheap to produce, TEN still get cheap results, which cost them big in the long run. A news service is much more expensive, but if they can get it to work, why not? It’s a fantastic idea and if it fails, they can always revert back to The Simpsons while they draw up another plan.
I am a long time Neighbours fan but I have to agree with much of the criticism here.
Ever since Andre Reui, there’s been a shark jumping every week. Currently it’s Jane Badler – a talented actress, but horribly out of place in Erinsborough. Plus I agree with all comments on the Toadie/Steph drama – how to ruin two characters.
But I really hope Ten stick with it in some capacity, as the older cast members are great. You can’t deny that it’s a TV institution and it would be a sad way to go. Is there any way Ten could rest it for the rest of the year and retool it?
bring back old neighbours
i think it time to axe the show tbe steph storyline is a joke i watch neighbours fome day one whwn des jim helen doug pam etc was in tbe show least it was more of tbe family show back then now it all teen and kids who cant act
The show does not need to be axed, it needs investment of thought from Ten. They need to liaise and think long and hard about how to improve and market the show. Fundamentally, PTTR represents the multi-generational approach to storytelling that Neighbours always had during its most successful period and that needs to be addressed.
However without any shadow of a doubt, Australia’s bizarre and draconian censorship rules are killing the show and Ten need to face facts. No soap opera can achieve quality and success with a ‘G’ rating in 2010.
I’ve seen comments on various forums that this isn’t a problem and many soaps (Neighbours included) have managed perfectly well in a ‘G’ timeslot. What I’ve never seen any explanation for however is why the goalposts for the rating have changed dramatically during the time Neighbours has been on air.
Pam Willis went to jail for assisted suicide, Julie Martin was the product of rape, Annalise talked endlessly about sex…and the words were allowed to be used without having to dance around and employ euphemisms. That’s the level of realism that any soap opera should have. It doesn’t need to be graphic but at least have some reflection of real life and the way that grown adults talk to each other.
past its use by date axe it
TEN needs to lose The Simpsons and Fast; seriously, it really is killing Neighbours. TEN and the critics are forever making the producers out to be the scapegoats. That is absolute crap. TEN need to take some responsibility here.
Notwithstanding that The 7PM Project has made some inroads now, that should never have been the solution in the first place.
TEN needs to re-enter the 6PM news race; if one looks at the ratings on a daily basis, it is the News / Current Affairs hour that are usually the Top 4 most weekdays (except when Masterchef is running, then they slip a spot); judging by the masses that watch Nine News / Seven News, then TT & ACA combined, people want news for that whole hour.
What TEN should have done was gone back to a half hour service from 6:00pm, then The Project @ 6:30pm and reinstated Neighbours to its ancestral home at 7:00pm. Of course, they can still do that, now that they’ve found an audience for The Project. I would love to see TEN experiment that. I really think it would have a massive effect on TT & ACA. And, until they can find a suitable alternative, perhaps Sports Tonight at 5:30pm.
It should take Home & Away’s hand and head off into the sunset forever. They’re both done and dusted.
As much as I like Neighbours, it really needs some major improvements. They need to integrate the show more with the outside world, such as more real Melbourne locations on the show (basically just pretend Vermont South/Forest Hill is Erinsborough and don’t change anything else), less teen orientated story lines, get some more twenty somethings back on the show because the only one at the moment is Lucas and I think they do need some more permanent old blood on the show. The best they have got at the moment is Lyn (who isn’t exactly a pensioner) and we hardly ever see Lou anymore. I also remember that Susan Bower said they were going to take the show in a less sensationalist direction but they went way too far with that. The show is getting blander by the month. The only hope of goodness is the 6000th episode shows. Ditch Susan Bower and get somebody in who understands how Melbourne families work and the general way of life. I can rant on about all the stuff I would change forever. Make me executive producer and i’ll get it cracking the million again!
Some of the comments on here about replacing Neighbours are hysterically laughable.
Besides the financial side of why TEN won’t dice Neighbours (Overseas revenue, the amount they sink into the show domestically), People seem to forget that Neighbours is an iconic cultural item which has had many ups and downs and has always pulled through.
I agree with the derision of the writing, it really has been sub par for sometime, but I think another big reason for the slipping quality is the non development of new talent.
The majority of the cast are either long termers, ressurections from the past or severely underveloped youngn’s who are nowhere near ready to carry the show.
At the end of the day, TEN are never going to drop Neighbours as it is a flagship of the network, but I think before the current writing staff alienates anymore past or future fans, they need to go.
“Neighbours will be part of the TEN family going forward”
Hmm. Sounds like Julia Gillard.
Sorry buts its Horrible….Please axe it and allow TEN to have to make 2.5 hours of Gooddrama. theyve already shown they can with Offspring which sounds fantastic, Rush and Hawke telemovie. Just axe it…its Terrible. And quality stuff can be made for an early timeslot…heartbreak high was excellent, and home and away has defintely being a better product right dow to production values. Neighbours just looks cheap and the plots are horrible!!
Im all for aussie drama, believe me! But this one is dead and needs to be out out of its misery to allow for some fresh product designed for this millenium!
I’ve recently been watching Home and Away: The Early Years on 7TWO, and I’d forgotten how superior Home and Away back in the 80s was compared to both Neighbours and Home and Away is today. The producers and writers could learn a lot by watching those earlier storylines.
What they should do is bring back its creator Reg Watson to write some episodes in this anniversary year.
He could do a few weeks worth and perhaps create a new ‘bible’ for the show – or maybe do a Desperate Housewives and flash-forward the story-lines a year or two down the track and basically start from scratch again.
It needs to get back to a good mix of young/old characters and more down to earth story-lines.
Any show worth its salt can last forever if they make good changes – look at Coronation Street – that’s changed over the years and will be celebrating 50 years on air this December in the U.K
The concept for Neighbours can continue on, but it needs re-freshing and probably needs the radical step of re-booting the entire series so that new audiences can be bought in – which any long running show needs to do in order to stay on air.
I don’t watch Neighbours, I don’t care for Neighbours but I don’t think it needs the axe I think it can be quite beneficial for Ten. Quite frankly I would do something about that 6pm slot before giving the kick to Neighbours. Ten have a good flow with TEN news but loose all momentum with The Simpsons at 6pm. Then having to build again which doesn’t start till 7pm when viewers are finished with news and current affair offerings on Seven and Nine.
Ten need to get 6pm working then Neighbours might start performing again.
If after patience it doesn’t show any improvements I still don’t think the axe is the option at least whilst it is sold in the UK I would push for a reform of commercial digital channels to include Australian content quota; considering the demographics of Neighbours I would say it would be likely for most viewers to have access to digital channels; it could actually provide Ten with really good shares on a 3rd digital channel.
No.
Whatever you’ve heard have been rumours.
Even if it were true? 5 years, really? If a shift in Neighbours’ programming was upon us back in 2005, why did they spend so much money on a revamp 2 years later rather than just try a different timeslot. TEN has a lot of faith in Neighbours’ because they still need it. Maybe not as much now, with Rush contributing a lot to their content quota’s, but Rush is one show. You would need enough shows to fill 2.5 hours a week for 45 weeks. If each show went for an hour, with a separate half hour drama, that would cover Neighbours. But if each season only ran for around 22 episodes (the norm) you would need 6 dramas (4 hour, 2 half hour). Even then, there’s an extra few weeks that need to be filled.
TEN needs Neighbours. If you can’t see that, you will soon. I doubt that when Mott announces something, it will be the show’s axing.
I can’t live without my daily dose of Neighbours, i love this show, the storylines are the best ever at the moment, i have no idea why its not doing better, perhaps its because Harold left and alot of older fans don’t watch, who knows, also alot of my friends do watch it later in the evening online from the website. Dosn’t overseas sales pay for this show,does it have to worry how it rates here to survive?? Please Ten, don’t axe it, alot of people would miss it, maybe try the dreaded “change” and bring in new characters, plots and what about a reappearance of Charlene’s kids?? From a person who has watched the show from the start and has grown up with Neighbours and wants to grow old with it, like a dear old friend.
A high quality US Teen Drama would not be a bad replacement for Neighbours.
The ABC prior to them getting the Heartbreak High rights from TEN used to show a lot of Canadian and British Teenage Shows so that could be another option ten could also consider.
I much prefer it to Home and Away, yes some of the storylines need to get more adult, but its one of the few shows i watch every week…
@courtney. it’s been upon us for the last 5 years
I’ve been reading the comments on Susan Bower, and although I kind of agree, no one has mentioned her work as an actual writer for Neighbours quite a while back.
Does anyone know when she worked on the show and whether there was any controversy about her back then. Personally, I think Bower is only a small slice of the problem. Dodgy Actors (Valentina Novakovic, Erin McNaught, Erin Mullally), poor storylines (teen drama galore) and bad graphics isn’t just the work of Bower, but is a fault of the entire production team.
Moving Neighbours to a 10.30 slot sounds good, and will make the show more interesting than it is now to say the least but it will bomb and will be axed within a week. Neighbours should be revamped, not completely revamped at the same time like in 2007, but over a period of time. It needs to find its feet again and rebuild a bit of a reputation. Find writers, producers, directors and actors who can and will deliver. Only then should the idea of moving the show out of 6.30 be toyed with.
Lastly, Neighbours’ shouldn’t be axed. That would be a poor decision by TEN because they would then need to find 2.5 hours of drama per week that will both perform well in the ratings and sell overseas. TEN can axe Big Brother, Australian Idol, Dance and a whole other bunch of programming easily because it was becoming more and more expensive to produce with dwindling results including poor revenue.
TEN are a little more dependent on Neighbours’ and any decision to move the show will be costly and will be a huge risk. Neighbours’ has survived for 25 years and believe you and me, nostalgia isn’t the only factor that has causes this. The show means a lot to TEN. It’s not a matter of TEN wanting it, it’s a matter of TEN needing it. It’s when TEN doesn’t need it anymore that it should be axed.
Those days aren’t upon us yet.
Lol, Google the last Freemantle deal with Channel 5 UK after they took it from the BBC. Even if it doesnt air on Ten’s main channel they’ll keep it going simply for the fact it is a good earner for at least the next 4 years………..
They should move it to Sydney
I stopped watching end of last year, I catch the adverts now and then and I am shocked they still have the Libby/Steph story going. It makes me very glad I haven’t been tuning in, no story line should last that long. I quit watching because it had lost it’s way, every other week was a new psycho/stalker story.