Neighbours has allegedly been axed after two years on Amazon.
The long-running Aussie soap, a staple of daytime TV in the UK for four decades, was saved by Amazon Freevee in 2022 just months after its finale aired on Channel 5, who had axed it earlier that year.
A source told The Sun: ‘Amazon gave Fremantle two years to see if it worked but sadly they just didn’t get the viewers.
“It’s a really sad day especially for the cast and crew who work on the show in Melbourne.
‘This really is the end of Neighbours just as it’s celebrated it’s 40th birthday.’
Metro has reached out to Neighbours reps for comment.
Viewers will recall that this isn’t the first time the Melbourne based soap has been taken off air.
In late 1985, original producers Seven Network dropped it after eight months due to poor ratings.
Luckily, rival channel Network 10 saw potential and it returned two months later, with a stellar publicity campaign and introduction of Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Guy Pearce as new teenage characters Charlene, Scott and Mike.
The three would become household names – and would pave the way for more global megastars, such as Margot Robbie, the Hemsworth brothers and Natalie Imbruglia to find fame on Ramsay Street.
Today’s news will undoubtedly spark similar conversation to early 2022, when British broadcaster Channel 5 cut funding. This meant that without a key UK benefactor, the show had to be taken off air.
A huge fan reaction saw a Change.org petition garner a whopping 71,800 signatures to save it – and it’s likely that will happen again.
Just four months after the supposed ‘finale’ aired, the show was announced to be returning with backing from streaming giants Amazon Prime Video.
These new episodes have aired Monday to Thursday on the platform since September 2023.
The Australian television landscape is vastly different to the UK, and despite two years of fabulous instalments, Neighbours has been outperformed by rival Home and Away.
The ratings have been steadily declining for the last 25 years, falling from a yearly average of 946,000 viewers in 2001 to 337,000 in 2011.
Presently, around 100k tune in each day in the soap’s home country.
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In March, a bittersweet celebration of 40 years on air will see a number of familiar faces make a welcome return to Erinsborough, whilst an emotional exit storyline for Harold Bishop (Ian Smith) will begin.
Anne Charleston is returning to play his new love interest – though as a new character, and not her iconic Madge.
There will also be a stunt and a wedding to look forward to in a week long birthday bash.
Neighbours continues Monday to Thursday, streaming for free on Amazon Prime Video from 7am.
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