Neighbours is being revived

Well, here’s a bit of good news for today: Fan-favourite Australian soap, Neighbours, is making a surprise comeback – just months after being axed! The show will return to screens in 2023, after it was announced that Amazon has stepped in to take the series forward.

Cast members Alan Fletcher, Jackie Woodburne, Ryan Moloney, and Stefan Dennis appeared in an announcement video released earlier today, to share the good news. In the video, the actors appear as their characters – Karl Kennedy, Susan Kennedy, Jarod Rebecchi, and Paul Robinson, respectively – to explain how the show is coming back and where viewers can tune in.

And the good news is, when Neighbours returns, the show is getting a much bigger platform than before. Oh, and there will be a chance to catch up on the old episodes too!

When Neighbours is revived in 2023, it will be available in the UK and the US via Amazon Freevee, which is free to watch. Meanwhile, in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, the show will be available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

In addition, Neighbours will also be returning to Aussie screens via Network 10 (rather than being dumped onto the digital channel). All of the episodes will be made available on Network 10 first, before they move over to streaming.

And if all that wasn’t enough, thousands of classic episodes of Neighbours will be made available on Freevee very shortly. These episodes will make their debut before the new series begins, meaning fans can revisit their favourite moments, while newcomers can get up to speed, before Neighbours embarks on this next chapter.

And it is a next chapter. While all of the same locations, and some of the old faces will be returning, expect plenty of new characters to join the show, as it embraces its new home and hopefully a long and successful future.

The news of Neighbours’ return follows a very dedicated, and ultimately quite fruitful fan-campaign to save the show, following its shock cancellation earlier this year. It was announced in the Spring that Neighbours was to come to an end after 37 years on air, after UK broadcaster Channel 5 pulled the plug on financing the series, and this caused a significant outcry in the fanbase.

But the loyal Neighbours fanbase never gave up hope, and made their feelings known about the show’s demise on social media, and via news reports. They then tuned in to the show’s final episode, along with millions of lapsed viewers, demonstrating there was still a lot of life left in the soap.

Speaking to all the Neighbours fans around the world about the return of the show, Alan Fletcher said: “Thank you for all the love and loyalty you’ve shown us here at Neighbours.” Jackie Woodburne added: “We miss you and we can’t wait to see you again.”

No further news has been announced just yet about the Neighbours comeback, and early indications suggest outside of the four actors noted above, no other ex-cast members were away of the revival until news broke this morning. But expect a number of conversations to take place over the coming weeks, with agents and actors keen to hold talks about a possible return of popular characters.

In some cases, it might not be possible for all of the ex-cast members to come back, as some of the actors have now taken on new projects, or have relocated since filming shut down. In other cases, some of the actors were ready to move on regardless of the show’s cancellation, and of course many of the old favourites who popped up for the finale (Guy Pearce, Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, etc) only came back for the send-off, and nothing more.

Either way, Neighbours 2.0 is certainly something to look forward to, and something positive to celebrate next year. The show will start appearing on screens during the second half of 2023.

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