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The much-loved Australian soap Neighbours has been cancelled for a second time just two years after it was picked up by Amazon.
Neighbours was first cancelled in February 2022 after Channel 5 decided to stop airing the show in the UK. When production company Fremantle was unable to find another channel to carry the programme, the show was cancelled altogether due to a lack of funding.
Nine months later, it was announced streaming giant Amazon would revive the programme with the series making a return to screens in September 2023.
However, in a statement released by the show on Friday (21 February) it was revealed the show would be “resting” from December 2025.
Neighbours production company, Fremantle, confirmed on social media production will wrap on the series in July. New episodes will air on Amazon Prime Video four times a week until the end of the year.
“New episodes from the 40th anniversary season will continue to air on Prime Video and Ten four times a week until the end of the year, with all the big soapie twists and turns that our viewers love,” they said.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Amazon said, per The Guardian: “Forty years is an incredible milestone and we are proud that Amazon MGM Studios was able to have a small part of bringing further episodes to Freevee and Prime Video customers over the last two years, spanning over 400 episodes.”
Neighbours has been a staple of UK television since it first started airing on BBC One in 1986. It moved to Channel 5 in 2008.
Over the years, it launched the careers of Australian stars including Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Guy Pearce and, more recently, Margot Robbie.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Jason Herbison, Executive Producer said: “Audiences all around the world have loved and embraced Neighbours for four decades and we are very proud of the huge success over the last two years including often appearing as one of the Top 10 titles in the UK.”
He added: “We value how much the fans love Neighbours and we believe there are more stories of the residents of Ramsay Street to tell in the future.”
Fans were quick to react to the sad news on X/Twitter. “I had a feeling Amazon would do this,” one person wrote. “It’s frustrating, but I hope Neighbours gets picked up by an organisation that will look after its long-term future.”
Meanwhile, another viewer added: “Every day it’s no.1 most watched on Amazon, so it seems pretty bizarre to me to cancel it. Personally I think it’s been consistently better since the reboot. It must be awful for the actors, the endless uncertainty.”
