Renewed: Neighbours revived for 2023
Ramsay Street has finally been thrown a rare lifeline, with brand new episodes commissioned for 2023 on 10 and Prime Video,
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Neighbours fans rejoice!
The seemingly impossible has happened, with the long-running soap being thrown a rare lifeline.
Neighbours, and the much-loved residents of Ramsay Street, is returning in 2023 after Fremantle, the producers of the iconic Australian series, secured Amazon Freevee and Prime Video as their international partner.
Network 10, the home of Neighbours for over three decades, will retain first run broadcast rights in Australia.
Stefan Dennis as Paul Robinson, Alan Fletcher as Karl Kennedy, Ryan Moloney as Toadie Rebecchi, and Jackie Woodburne as Susan Kennedy reprise their roles as residents of Ramsay Street.
“Neighbours has captivated its audience for nearly 40 years, building a dedicated and loyal following for the lives and stories of the characters on Ramsay Street,” said Lauren Anderson, head of AVOD original content and programming, Amazon Studios. “With the power of streaming, we’re able to offer a catalogue of thousands of Neighbours episodes for new audiences to discover this legendary series and current fans to relive their favorite moments. We look forward to immersing the audience in new Ramsay Street experiences when we relaunch the show next year for Amazon Freevee and Prime Video customers.”
“Neighbours is a unique series with a powerful connection with its fans across the world. We cherish the show and all those who have been part of its incredible story over many decades, so we are thrilled that we have found a new home with Amazon Freevee. Thanks to the innovative Amazon Freevee platform, many classic episodes will be available to fans, and Neighbours will go back into full production in Australia early next year, providing our fans with new episodes,” said Jennifer Mullin, global CEO, Fremantle. “This partnership with Amazon Freevee marks an exciting new chapter, and we look forward to collaborating with them, along with our long-term and valued partner in Australia, Network 10.”
Beverley McGarvey, Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer, Paramount Australia and New Zealand said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome Neighbours back home to Network 10, and while we loved the finale earlier this year and appreciated the incredible support from the cast, crew and fans, we continued to hold a small glimmer of hope that one day it would be possible to resume the series.
“We are grateful for the tenacity and determination displayed by Fremantle in securing a new production partner so our association could continue.”
“A much-loved stalwart of our program schedule for over 35 years, we can’t wait to bring back the perfect blend of soap and sunshine to Australian audiences which will also add a fantastic boost to the Victorian and wider production community.”
Greg Woods, CEO Fremantle Australia, said: “The love for Neighbours is undeniable and we have been determined to explore every possible avenue to bring it back for loyal fans across the world. We are beyond thrilled to have secured this landmark deal with Amazon Freevee, along with Network 10 in Australia, long-term and passionate supporters of the show.
“We will be going back into the writing room immediately and production for this wonderful series will begin next year. Neighbours has been so important for the Victorian production community, and along with our partners, will provide new opportunities on both sides of the camera. We cannot wait to get started.”
Neighbours ran for more than three decades and nearly 9,000 episodes, garnering fans across the globe and launching the careers of many household names. The Australian show has screened in multiple countries during its reign, including the UK, airing on both BBC One and, most recently, Channel 5, since its launch in 1985. The final episode of Neighbours aired in July 2022 and featured guest star appearances from Kylie Minogue, Guy Pearce, Jason Donovan, and Margot Robbie, all of whom were series cast members earlier in their careers.
Neighbours is produced by Fremantle. Jason Herbison, Neighbours’ executive producer since 2013, will maintain his position on the exciting new chapter of Neighbours, with Andrew Thompson returning as producer.
UK and U.S. audiences can view the series free of charge on Amazon Freevee. The revitalised series will also be available ad free on Prime Video in Australia and New Zealand seven days following the free to air viewing of the new series, and exclusively on Prime Video in Canada.
🚨 Breaking News from Erinsborough! 🚨
Neighbours will return for a brand-new series next year exclusively on @AmazonFreevee, alongside thousands of episodes from previous seasons to stream as you please. 🎉 pic.twitter.com/1Qq2fIPgog
— Neighbours (@neighbours) November 17, 2022
And nope…. this isn’t an April Fool’s folks.
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76 Responses
Wait And See People Ten will announce in Due Course what Time Slot And Which Channel it will be on we will just have to be patient I am looking forward to watching the Show it doesn’t worry me if it’s Ten Or Peach just glad it’s returning to TV
This may be a stupid question, but when neighbours was announced it was finishing why couldn’t this deal have been organised and announced so we didn’t have to go through the death of neighbours and the actors and crew going through the motions of losing there jobs.
But good that it’s back and the actors, crew and everyone behind the scenes have jobs again.
From what I understand, Fremantle explored every option it could think of before finally deciding that they’d have to “rest” the show (they approached all of the UK broadcasters and I believe they explored streaming options). Nothing could be finalised in time to avoid production ceasing in June. As confirmed by the cast, they didn’t even have an inkling of what was happening until a week ago (and even then, only the four cast members who appeared in the announcement video were told about it). It would be interesting to know who approached whom to discuss a potential deal. Channel 10 have always said they wanted to continue to air the show, but they could only do it if additional funding was sourced by Fremantle. Amazon clearly saw it as a good investment and have come to the party (albeit late…but better late than never :-).
This too will fail like Back to the Rafters.
This is a decades old show that ended months ago against a tirade of backlash and people petitioning for it to be saved. Packed to the Rafters was brought back 8 years after nobody asked for it.
Do we know the scope of the deal? Is this a 12 months, 24 months, 5 year deal?
Or if it tanks and fails to deliver sign ups internationally it’s swiftly axed after a few months?
This is the perfect opportunity to make it a 2 nights a week soap with a more adult feel.
The issue with Neighbours was that CBS/Viacom/Paramount were no longer prepared to fund it, even though they owned it in it’s two largest markets. They are putting in enough to keep first run rights here but that is all. Amazon is picking up most of the tab and using Neigbours to drive account sign ups through Freevee in the US and UK. And can add it to Prime in their other English speaking markets like Australia, NZ and Canada and Freemantle will get back some of the overseas sales. Neighbours which was rating 150-200k in the Overnights here on Ch 11, before it’s cancellation boost, is not going to replace The Project on Ten. Home and Away is rating 900+ Total here, and there is locked in contract with Channel 5 in the UK, and it sells in more countries than Neighbour did. It’s full of a lot of M rated crime content but that’s not uncommon for soaps and makes it more popular. Nobody seems to care much, though Seven still produces a G rated version for those who do.
Well done, you’re a fountain of knowledge on this.
Fantastic news! Glad they hadn’t dismantled the outdoor sets, plus loads of people in the industry can get their jobs back and continue to be the vital training ground for in front and behind the camera.
Also, it will be back on the main channel! Does that mean 10 News will go back to 1 hour and Neighbours can go on at 6pm?
Network 10 is all we now. I checked this morning.
Will be interesting to see how they bring it back given the story lines at the end.
Didn’t Scoot and Charlene buy a house along with Mike, who was also offered a job as a teacher at Erinsborough High?
What about Peter O’Brien’s character returning?
How many cast members actually want to or are available to return?
How do the property owners of the court feel? How many have made changes to front of houses once show ended?
Thought that the the hotel and shops set at Nunawading was pulled down!
The only way i can see the show continuing is to move forward a bit in story timeline ie make it start one year after the reunion.
This article was first published on April 1st wasn’t it? 😂
Even though I haven’t watched Neighbours for a long time, I am so glad it’s coming back. I’m curious what they are going to do for the first storyline. Is someone going to wake up (e.g. Susan/Toadie) and realise the final episode was all a dream or something?
Fantastic news!!! I never thought it would happen, but I’m so glad it has! It belongs on the main channel, and should never have been shunted to the secondary channel 11. I’m so pleased for all involved in the show! And good on those fans who’ve kept up the ‘bring neighbours back’ posts online. It worked!!!
Just when I thought that this was not an April Fools Joke. As much as I don’t watch Neighbours, it’s good that they’ve struck a deal with Amazon/10.
I wish that they put it on main channel & not on 10Peach. When they moved this show to 11 in early 2011, this saw the downfall of 10. Mostly this was the Ten News Revolution as well as chopping & changing programs in its 6pm-6:30 timeslot.
Fantastic news and just what 10 needs on their main channel – I hope!! Now please just make it right this time, follow in Home and Aways foot steps and cast it right and have relatable edgy storyline’s like OC Neighbours did when it first came to 10 and they smashed it in the early days. Great news Network 10 just what you need!!
Now all 10 needs to do is make ‘The Living Room’ good again and bring it back on Saturday nights this time, bring back the amazing OS travel with Chris and Miguel, the big Reno’s with Barry, Amanda’s celebrity interviews with international stars and some other guest hosts doing other things to mix it up up a bit and then 10 will have drama and entertainment covered that their viewers have grown to love.
Interesting it is being promoted as coming back to 10 in 2023. Not a secondary channel.
“Network 10” as above, not “10”.
Yes Channel 10 – the main channel, not one of the digitals. It’s been confirmed.
Only Network 10 is confirmed.
In B4 Neighbours fans in the UK and Ireland complaining about not being to watch their beloved soap opera on Free To Air TV.
Astonishing! What an incredible result for all the fans who displayed so much love and loyalty. And what brilliant news for the Australian TV industry, because neighbours has always been one of the best training grounds around. Thank you Amazon and Ten. Good on you Fremantle. Ramsay Street forever.
It’s great to hear something like that coming from an expert in the industry. I used to marvel at the number of familiar names that popped up in the production credits (e.g. Scott Major and Kate Kendall, just to name two). The loss to the industry was huge – so glad it’s only been a temporary one! Much gratitude to everyone involved in making this happen!
Wow this is great news. So it will be on 10 & we don’t have to sign up for Amazon Prime? So I wonder if they will continue on from where the finale left off or will they just ignore it & pretend it didn’t happen? I kept it for nostalgia reasons so am glad now. I can watch it again before it comes back. I hope they can get most of them back & they haven’t signed on to Home & Away or some other show.
Fantastic news for the industry as well as fans. Heightened interest in last years finale might be good reason to not only revive Neighbours but also put it back on the main channel to see how it goes.
On Ten @ 6.30 or 7 with heavy promotion cut The Project back to 30 mins.
Neighbours will once again get lost to wider audiences if it airs back on Peach.
I Hope they get new writers and bring back the old neighbours storylines and not get stuck with all this woke stuff
Dont count on it. It’s the way of the world now, virtue signalling.
You’ve always got Home & Away if you only like seeing white, heterosexual people on television.
As opposed to merely superficially “diverse” people who parrot the same tiresome platitudes?
David, is this an prank or something else what so ever, how can Neighbours comeback after an all star farewell. If it is true, some of the actors might not won’t to comeback after an all star farewell earlier this year.
I’m actually tearing up at this news, this is incredible. I thought this was a prank article at first. So happy to hear the sentence “production for this wonderful series will begin next year.” Neighbours is such a fun, touching, incredibly up to date production that isn’t afraid to laugh at itself. I found myself sitting in front of home and away every now and then and it jistmade me miss Neighbours even more. Brilliant news, bring on new Neighbours episode in 2023! 😁
Home & Away went from a wholesome family show…foster kids in a seaside caravan park….to a B&B type soap opera…totally lost its way.
T o t a l l y A g r e e!!!!
I stopped watching it when River boys arrived. I only recently saw it again re the Kiwi storyline/family. I stopped watching it again when Ari died. So unfair. I also sometimes watch for Alf/Martha/Roo.; Marilyn etc. I sometimes will watch an ep re Leah too. But thats it. Return fostering and get back to show roots. H & A isnt meant to be a US type show. And I saw it from the beginning. Again, congrats to Ray Meagher on This is Your Life! So well deserved.
I literally checked the date when I saw this. Bizarre.
I seriously checked the date (not April 1st) but this is astonishingly good news for Australian TV. I can only imagine the efforts and passions it took to make this happen.
Your forgetting $$$$ Its been a cosh cow for Fremantle
Wow. Didn’t think this would happen. Good on Fremantle for finding a new home. Will be interesting if this continues on Peach or if it will make a comeback to the main channel.
What amazing news! Neighbours has been resurrected!