The popular Australian soap opera Neighbours has been cancelled once more. Amazon, which has been streaming new episodes of the long-running soap opera since September 2023, has not agreed to a long-term renewal arrangement with the show.
Neighbours confirmed in a statement issued on Friday, February 21: “We are sad to announce that Neighbours will be resting from December 2025.
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.”
The producer of Neighbours, Fremantle, has confirmed that production will conclude in July. The announcement stated that until the end of 2025, new episodes will be available four times a week on Australia’s Channel Ten and Amazon Prime Video worldwide, “with all the big soapie twists and turns that our viewers love.”
A record 37-year run came to an end in 2022 when Fremantle was unable to find another UK broadcaster after Channel 5 stopped supporting Neighbours.
Amazon announced a few months later that it would revive Neighbours for its now-defunct Freevee streaming service, with Neighbours: A New Chapter debuting in 2023, in response to the ensuing outpouring of love for the show following its demise.
Despite Channel 5’s financial withdrawal, the show continued to do well in the competitive UK soap opera market, drawing 1.5 million viewers per day in 2022.
Ten has already stated that it was not commercially feasible for Neighbours to finance production alone, so with Amazon pulling out, the company will once more need to secure another foreign sale or streaming agreement to save it.
With many people in the business having learned on the job, Neighbours is also considered a crucial training ground for crew and production personnel in Australia’s television industry.
Ten expressed gratitude to “the Australian fans and audiences for their continued support of the series” and to the cast and crew for their efforts.
“It is a mighty achievement that the series will reach the 40-year milestone next month,” the spokesperson for Ten said. “The program will be missed by the fans and the people who have been part of this amazing journey. We wish them well.”
Executive producer Jason Herbison added: “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 and the show’s first-ever Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Daytime Series in 2024.”
“As this chapter closes, we appreciate and thank Amazon MGM Studios for all that they have done for Neighbours – bringing this iconic and much-loved series to new audiences globally.
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.”
New episodes of Neighbours are available for free on Amazon Freevee and Prime Video in the US and the UK Monday through Thursday. The program airs on Channel 10 in Australia Monday through Thursday at 4 p.m., with a repeat showing on 10 Peach Comedy at 6.30 p.m.