Everyone wants friendly neighbours, except Channel 5, which is based in the United Kingdom.
The network, which has been the programme’s primary financial backer in recent years, has opted not to extend the show after this summer’s British summer.
“We understand that this decision will cause sadness, but our present focus is on increasing our investment in original UK drama, which has a great appeal for our viewers,” the network stated in a statement.
Because of the decision, the show, which is in its 37th season, has been left without the financing it requires to continue.
The show’s continuous success has been bolstered by its popularity in the United Kingdom, where it receives about 1.5 million daily viewers.
However, in recent years, the Australian audience has shrunk.
FremantleMedia, the show’s production company, announced the show’s cancellation in an email to cast and staff on Sunday.
“Our audience continues to grow, and Channel 10 would love to keep the show going if we could find a new broadcast partner to replace C5 [Channel 5],” the email stated.
“These conversations are ongoing, but there is currently no new broadcaster, so production must come to a halt, effectively putting the show on hold.”
Vaya Pashos, like many other fans, was taken aback.
She expressed her disbelief and denial by saying, “I’m in disbelief, I’m in denial.”
Ms Pashos, a TV writer and host of the fan podcast Neighbuzz, expressed hope that fan support would help the cherished characters of Ramsay Street find a new home.
“There’s still time to save this show,” she added. “We’re ready, and the fan community is eager to crowdfund it.”
Fans have been rallying online to save the show with the hashtag #SaveNeighbours.
Neighbors serve as a “school” for industry talent
Many of Australia’s most prominent performers have started their careers on the show, and TV reviewer Michael Bodie believes it was a perfect launching pad for them.
“It’s given talents like Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Delta Goodrem, and Margot Robbie, who’ve gone through there, a kind of discipline that a lot of performers really benefit from,” he remarked.
According to former Neighbours screenplay producer Luke Devenish, the role of Neighbours in the Australian film and television business may surprise audiences.
He oversaw scripts for roughly 1,500 episodes of Neighbours as a senior lecturer in film and television at the University of Melbourne’s Victorian College of the Arts.
He told ABC’s The World Today programme that “the show has always functioned a little bit like a school, in that it is a really, really essential training ground.”
“When you look at their CV, so many people working in film and television in this nation have Neighbours on it.”
“I’m quite saddened by the loss of that and what it could mean for the Australian film and television business.”
Fans might find escapism among the Ramsay Street idols
Neighbours cemented its reputation as a classic television show by providing viewers with unforgettable experiences.
Perhaps none more so than when Charlene, played by Kylie Minogue, married Jason Donovan’s boy-next-door Scott.
Moments like Scott and Charlene’s wedding have endeared the show to viewers all over the world, from Australia to the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Ms Pashos explained, “It’s the daily escapism; it’s the dramatisation.”
“It’s Karl and Susan [Kennedy] fighting over the cucumbers in the rear veggie patch, and then Rob Mills going on a murder spree on an island.”
Whether or not Ramsay Street has run out of marriages and murderers will most likely be determined by the presence of a new international backer.
