Neighbours’ EP Jason Herbison and Andrew Mercado on celebrating the soap

In 2020, at the height of the worldwide COVID lockdown, Neighbours became the first scripted TV series in the world to return to filming. They invented a system whereby cast and crew were split into four separate units, thereby minimising the risk if the virus visited the set.

The innovation made The New York Times which reported that its “new safety rules could point a way forward for the struggling entertainment industry”. Indeed it did and other soaps, like EastEnders and The Bold and The Beautiful, studied Neighbours’ techniques so they too could go back to work.

Neighbours, which is now facing the axe after Channel 5 in the UK announced they were dropping the show, does not get enough credit for its production standards. There are no more “wobbly sets” and as discussed on our recent Mercado & Manning podcast (listen here), the show has quietly introduced four-walled sets, adding a new dimension to what have always been three-sided sets.

As well as more location filming, including a gorgeous new vineyard, the make-believe suburb of Erinsborough is constantly changing and improving. Lassiters is now a high-rise five-star hotel complete with a rooftop pool offering views of the Melbourne skyline. And unlike Holiday Island, the TV flop that was once filmed on the same sometimes-freezing Nunawading set, it is now believable that it’s summer all year round.

Big day for Kyle and Roxy recently on Neighbours

If Neighbours is going to end, at least it is going out on a high. Executive producer Jason Herbison told Mediaweek: “We are very proud of everything Neighbours has achieved. We see the next few months as being a huge celebration for the show with a bit of everything for viewers. Any ending will be respectful of the past, the present and always open to a future.”

Neighbours is a show that respects its history but still takes creative risks. The series left behind its white heteronormative past a long time ago and has moved with the times to be more multi-sexual and multicultural. It’s a shame that a bigger audience has not seen these improvements, as it languishes to no love on 10 Peach.

It is vitally important for the industry that long-running serials like Neighbours and Home and Away continue to flourish because they are fantastic training grounds for young actors and crew members learning their craft. If they go (and Home and Away has already been shunted out off to a UK digital channel), where will the next generation of TV stars and makers come from if they can’t cut their teeth on Aussie drama?

Personally, I have never watched Neighbours more than in the last few years. It had always been too G-rated and suburban family for me, but it’s had some cracking stories of late, and bringing back former characters has been thrilling. Along with all the devastated devotees, I am hoping a lifeline can be found so it can continue.

Don’t miss Mercado on TV every Friday in Mediaweek Morning Report.