Finding the ‘perfect blend’ in an undervalued genre: Considering the importance of ‘ordinariness’ in Australian soap opera Neighbours

Abstract

Australian soap Neighbours (1985‐2022) was in active production for nearly 40 years. As a piece of popular television, it is still syndicated internationally and also sold as a successful format for new works. Neighbours has also served as an outlet to launch new generations of Australian on- and off-screen talent. Despite these successes, Neighbours has been overlooked by tastemakers, academics and critics. This article places Neighbours in context within the Australian television landscape; going on to explore how the soap has responded during the rapid technological, industrial and cultural evolutions that have occurred since its beginnings in the 1980s. Importantly, Neighbours has featured a variety of different types of Australian characters with a variety of narratives, including working class, migrant, LGBTQI+, and blended families.