Perhaps it’s only fitting that the TV series has as many twists and turns as the Australian favourite Neighbour Over the years he lived a similarly dramatic life in real life. First broadcast in 1985, the series quickly gained a large following in Australia and abroad in the late 1980s, particularly in the UK, where the cast made regular guest appearances on the BBC and their every move was scrutinized by the tabloid press.
A stint in soaps gave many an acting career a boost. Emmy Award winner Guy Pearce and Academy Award nominee Margot Robbie are just two of the many actors who have cut their teeth. Neighbour before moving on to bigger things. Others, however, have worked in the music business – Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Natalie Imbruglia, and Delta Goodrem have all gone on to enjoy international stardom in the world of pop music.
37 years later, Neighbour’ The last episode aired last July. However, in the fall, it was announced that the soap would return to our screens in 2023 after original creators Fremantle struck a last-minute deal to make the show part of the Amazon Freevee Channel’s original programming. Fortunately, the original sets for the show were preserved, and the studio backdrop the show was filmed on remained available, so the only question left to be answered was NeighbourThe return is: what can we expect?
Does the building change?
In an age of reboots, reimaginings, and sequels, fans might be forgiven for suspecting that the game makers might want to play fast and loose. Neighbour. So perhaps the best news about the show’s return is no news. Although there remains a question mark as to whether the soap will be able to film outdoor scenes in a real-life Melbourne road that doubles as Ramsay Street (long-term filming agreements with locals ended last year), the soap’s setting in the suburb of Erinsborough remains fantasy as it is.
Filming on new episodes begins April 17, with the first of these episodes premiering on Freevee in late 2023.
Which cast members will return?
With the studio back in place, the biggest headache was not finding writers for the show — many old soap hands had already written scripts — but reassembling the cast. Since the show’s return after the eleventh hour was totally unexpected, many of the regulars had already landed other acting work when the announcement was made in November.
At the time, several cast members revealed that they only found out about the show’s return on social media and that they were already involved in other projects. For example, it appears Takaya Honda is not reprising his role as David Tanaka, after spending most of the winter filming the upcoming romantic comedy The gift you give.
However, long-running Stefan Dennis, Alan Fletcher, Jackie Woodburne, and Ryan Moloney were all confirmed to return in November, and since then, there has been a steady stream of actors confirming their participation. Rebecca Elmaloglou was recently confirmed to be reprising her role as Terese Willis, New Zealander Tim Kano, who hosted late last year on the US drama. La BreaHe will also return as Leo Tanaka.
Georgie Stone was another cast member who fell into the trap of the comeback announcement, but she also confirmed that she would be back. Stone is best known in Australia as a transgender rights activist, and in 2019 she joined the series playing Mackenzie Hargreaves, the first transgender character to appear on the show. during NeighbourGap, Stone Kept Busy: Her Short Film About Her Experience, Dream Life Georgie StoneIt received positive reviews upon its release late last year and is available to stream on Netflix.
What storylines can we expect?
The show’s creators have been sticking with the storylines, but at least one screening has been removed from the book. As news of the show’s cancellation filtered through, the writers, eager to leave the show on a high note, made the conscious decision to tone down one or two of the darker themes and their storylines that they had been planning. For example, David Tanaka’s story arc was set to end with a prison sentence for manslaughter on medical grounds, but this was replaced with a happy ending, with David and partner Aaron agreeing to co-parent with their surrogate child, Nicolette.
It’s fair to say that now that the show’s future is secure, the show’s makers will want to quickly return to the trials and tribulations and high drama we’ve come to expect from the residents of its most iconic and colorful setting. Street in Melbourne. Neighbour You simply can’t stay away from our screens for long, so stay tuned in 2023 for the return of the beloved show.
