Editing Soap opera (section)

==Australia==
:''See [[List of longest-serving soap opera actors]]''
Australia has had quite a number of well-known soap operas, some of which have gained cult followings in the United Kingdom, [[New Zealand]] and other countries. The majority of Australian television soap operas are produced for early evening or evening timeslots. They usually produce two or two and a half hours of new material each week, either arranged as four or five half-hour episodes a week, or as two one-hour episodes.

Stylistically, these series most closely resemble British soap operas in that they are nearly always shot on videotape, are mainly recorded in a studio and use a [[multi-camera setup]]. The original Australian serials were shot entirely in studio. During the 1970s occasional filmed inserts were used to incorporate sequences shot outdoors. Outdoor shooting later became commonplace and starting in the late 1970s, it became standard practice for some on-location footage to be featured in each episode of any Australian soap opera, often to capitalise on the attractiveness and exotic nature of these locations for international audiences.<ref name=Bowles-120>Bowles, p. 120.</ref> Most Australian soap operas focus on a mixed age range of middle-class characters and will regularly feature a range of locations where the various, disparate characters can meet and interact, such as the café, the surf club, the wine bar or the school.<ref name=Bowles-120/>

===Early serials===
The genre began in Australia on radio, as it had in the United States and the United Kingdom. One such radio serial, ''Big Sister'', featured actress [[Thelma Scott]] in the cast and aired nationally for five years beginning in 1942. Probably the best known Australian radio serial was the long-running soap opera ''[[Blue Hills (radio serial)|Blue Hills]]'', which was created by [[Gwen Meredith]] and ran from 1949 to 1976. With the advent of Australian television in 1956, daytime television serials followed. The first Australian television soap opera was ''[[Autumn Affair]]'' (1958) featuring radio personality and ''Blue Hills'' star [[Queenie Ashton]] making the transition to television. Each episode of this serial ran for 15 minutes and aired each weekday on the [[Seven Network]]. ''Autumn Affair'' failed to secure a sponsor and ended in 1959 after 156 episodes. It was followed by ''[[The Story of Peter Grey]]'' (1961), another Seven Network weekday series aired in a daytime slot in 15-minute installments. ''The Story of Peter Grey'' ran for 164 episodes.

The first successful wave of Australian evening television soap operas started in 1967 with ''[[Bellbird (soap opera)|Bellbird]]'', produced by the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]. This rural-based serial screened in an early evening slot in 15-minute installments as a lead-in to the evening news. ''Bellbird'' was a moderate success but built up a consistent and loyal viewer base, especially in rural areas, and enjoyed a ten-year run. ''[[Motel (TV series)|Motel]]'' (1968) was Australia's first half-hour soap opera; the daytime soap had a short run of 132 episodes.

===The 1970s===
The first major soap opera hit in Australia was the sex-melodrama ''[[Number 96 (TV series)|Number 96]]'', a nighttime series produced by [[Cash Harmon Television]] for [[Network 10]], which debuted March 1972. The program dealt with such topics as [[homosexuality]], [[adultery]], drug use, rape within marriage and [[racism]], which had rarely been explored on Australian television programs before. The series became famous for its sex scenes and nudity and for its comedic characters, many of whom became cult heroes in Australia. By 1973, ''Number 96'' had become Australia's highest-rated show. In 1974, the sexed-up antics of ''Number 96'' prompted the creation of ''[[The Box (soap opera)|The Box]]'', which rivaled it in terms of nudity and sexual situations and was scheduled in a nighttime slot. Produced by [[Crawford Productions]], many critics considered ''The Box'' to be a more slickly produced and better written show than ''Number 96''. ''The Box'' also aired on the Ten Network, programmed to run right after ''Number 96''. For 1974 ''Number 96'' was again the highest rating show on Australian television, and that year ''The Box'' occupied the number two spot.

Also in 1974, the [[Reg Grundy Organisation]] created its first soap opera, and significantly Australia's first ''teen'' soap opera, ''[[Class of '74]]''. With its attempts to hint at the sex and sin shown more openly on ''Number 96'' and ''The Box'', its high school setting and early evening timeslot, ''Class of '74'' came under intense scrutiny from the Broadcasting Control Board, who vetted scripts and altered entire storylines.

By 1975, both ''Number 96'' and ''The Box'', perhaps as a reaction to declining ratings for both shows, de-emphasised the sex and nudity shifting more towards comedic plots. ''Class of '74'' was renamed ''Class of '75'' and also added more slapstick comedy for its second year, but the revamped show's ratings declined, resulting in its cancellation in mid-1975. That year Cash Harmon's newly launched second soap ''[[The Unisexers]]'' failed in its early evening slot and was cancelled after three weeks; the Reg Grundy Organisation's second soap ''[[Until Tomorrow]]'' ran in a daytime slot for 180 episodes.

A feature film version of ''Bellbird'' entitled ''Country Town'' was produced in 1971 by two of the show's stars, Gary Gray and Terry McDermott, without production involvement by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ''Number 96'' and ''The Box'' also released feature film versions, both of which had the same title as the series, released in 1974 and 1975 respectively. As Australian television had broadcast in black and white until 1975, these theatrical releases all had the novelty of being in colour. The film versions of ''Number 96'' and ''The Box'' also allowed more explicit nudity than could be shown on television at that time.

In November 1976 ''[[The Young Doctors]]'' debuted on the [[Nine Network]]. This Grundy Organization series eschewed the adult drama of ''Number 96'' and ''The Box'', focusing more on relationship drama and romance. It became a popular success but received few critical accolades. A week later ''[[The Sullivans]]'', a carefully produced period serial chronicling the effects of World War II on a [[Melbourne]] family, also debuted on Nine. Produced by Crawford Productions, ''The Sullivans'' became a ratings success, attracted many positive reviews, and won television awards. During this period ''Number 96'' re-introduced nudity into its episodes, with several much-publicised full-frontal nude scenes, a cast revamp and a new range of shock storylines designed to boost the show's declining ratings. ''Bellbird'' experienced changes to its broadcast pattern with episodes screening in 60 minute blocks, and later in 30 minute installments.

''Bellbird'', ''Number 96'' and ''The Box'', which had been experiencing declining ratings, were cancelled in 1977. Various attempts to revamp each of the shows with cast reshuffles or spectacular disaster storylines had proved only temporarily successful. ''The Young Doctors'' and ''The Sullivans'' continued to be popular. November 1977 saw the launch of successful soap opera/[[police procedural]] series ''[[Cop Shop]]'' (1977–1984) produced by Crawford Productions for [[Seven Network|Channel Seven]]. In early December 1977 [[Network 10|Channel Ten]] debuted the Reg Grundy Organisation produced ''[[The Restless Years]]'' (1977–1981), a more standard soap drama focusing on several young school leavers.

The Seven Network, achieving success with ''Cop Shop'' produced by Crawford Productions, had Crawfords produce ''[[Skyways (TV series)|Skyways]]'', a series with a similar format but set in an airport, to compete with the Nine Network's popular talk show ''[[The Don Lane Show]]''. ''Skyways'', which debuted in July 1979, emphasised adult situations including homosexuality, marriage problems, adultery, [[prostitution]], drug use and smuggling, crime, suicide, political intrigue, and [[murder]], and featured some nudity. Despite this, the program achieved only moderate ratings and was cancelled in mid-1981.

===The 1980s===
The Reg Grundy Organisation found major success with the women's-prison drama ''[[Prisoner (TV series)|Prisoner]]'' (1979–1986) on Network Ten, and melodramatic [[family saga]] ''Sons and Daughters'' (1982–1987) on the Seven Network. Both shows achieved high ratings in their original runs, and unusually, found success in repeats after the programs ended.

Grundy soap ''The Young Doctors'' and Crawford Productions' ''The Sullivans'' continued on the Nine Network until late 1982. Thereafter Nine attempted many new replacement soap operas produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation: ''[[Taurus Rising]]'' (1982), ''[[Waterloo Station (TV series)|Waterloo Station]]'' (1983), ''[[Starting Out]]'' (1983) and ''[[Possession (TV series)|Possession]]'' (1985), along with ''[[Prime Time (Australian TV series)|Prime Time]]''  (1986) produced by Crawford Productions. None of these programs were successful and most were cancelled after only a few months. The Reg Grundy Organisation also created ''[[Neighbours]]'', a suburban-based daily serial devised as a gentle family drama with some comedic and lightweight situations, for the Seven Network in 1985.

Produced in Melbourne at the studios of [[HSV-7]], ''Neighbours'' achieved high ratings in Melbourne, [[Brisbane]] and [[Adelaide]], but not in [[Sydney]], where it aired at 5.30 p.m. placing it against the hit dating game show ''[[Perfect Match (Australian game show)|Perfect Match]]'' on Channel 10. The Seven Network's Sydney station [[ATN-7]] quickly lost interest in ''Neighbours'' as a result of the low ratings in Sydney. HSV-7 in Melbourne lobbied heavily to keep ''Neighbours'' on the air, but ATN-7 managed to convince the rest of the network to cancel the show and instead keep ATN-7's own Sydney-based dramas ''A Country Practice'' and ''Sons and Daughters''.

After the network cancelled ''Neighbours'', it was immediately picked up by Channel Ten, which revamped the cast and scripts slightly and aired the series in the 7.00 p.m. slot starting 20 January 1986. It initially attracted low audiences; however, after a concerted publicity drive, Ten managed to transform the series into a major success, turning several of its actors into major international stars. The show's popularity eventually declined and it was moved to the 6.30 p.m. slot in 1992. In January 2011 it moved to [[Eleven (TV channel)|Eleven]] and ended after 8,903 episodes on 28 July 2022. In November 2022, [[Amazon Freevee]] revived the show with an order of 400 episodes to begin airing in 2023. It is Australia's longest-running soap opera.

The success of ''Neighbours'' in the 1980s prompted the creation of somewhat similar suburban and family or teen-oriented soap operas such as ''[[Home and Away]]'' (1988–present) on Channel Seven, where compared to ''Neighbours'', ''Home and Away's'' storylines were more adult-themed and hard-hitting, as well as becoming the most-awarded and highest-rated soap opera on Australian television, and ''Richmond Hill'' (1988) on Channel Ten. Both proved popular, however ''Richmond Hill'' emerged as only a moderate success and was cancelled after one year to be replaced on Ten by ''[[E Street (TV series)|E Street]]'' (1989–1993).

Nine continued trying to establish a successful new soap opera, without success. After the failure of family drama ''[[Family and Friends]]'' in 1990, it launched the raunchier and more extreme ''[[Chances (TV series)|Chances]]'' in 1991, which resurrected the sex and melodrama of ''Number 96'' and ''The Box'' in an attempt to attract attention. ''Chances'' achieved only moderate ratings, and was moved to a late-night timeslot. It underwent several revamps that removed much of the original cast, and refocused the storylines to incorporate science-fiction and fantasy elements. The series continued in a late night slot until 1992, when it was cancelled due to low ratings despite the much-discussed fantasy storylines.

===Australian soaps internationally===
Several Australian soap operas have also found significant international success. In the UK, starting in the mid-1980s, daytime broadcasts of ''The Young Doctors'', ''The Sullivans'', ''Sons and Daughters'' and ''Neighbours'' (which itself was subsequently moved to an early-evening slot) achieved significant success. Grundy's ''Prisoner'' began airing in the United States in 1979 and achieved high ratings in many regions there, however, the show ended its run in that country three years into its run. ''Prisoner'' also aired in late-night timeslots in the UK beginning in the late 1980s, achieving enduring cult success there. The show became so popular in that country that it prompted the creation of two stage plays and a stage musical based on the show, all of which toured the UK, among many other spin-offs. In the late 1990s, Channel 5 repeated ''Prisoner'' in the UK. Between 1998 and 2005, Channel 5 ran late-night repeats of ''Sons and Daughters''. During the 1980s, the Australian attempts to emulate big-budget U.S. soap operas such as ''Dallas'' and ''Dynasty'' had resulted in the debuts of ''Taurus Rising'' and ''[[Return to Eden]]'', two slick soap opera dramas with big budgets that were shot entirely on film. Though their middling Australian ratings resulted in the shows running only for a single season, both programs were successfully sold internationally.

Other shows to achieve varying levels of international success include ''Richmond Hill'', ''E Street'', ''[[Paradise Beach]]'' (1993–1994), and ''[[Pacific Drive (TV series)|Pacific Drive]]'' (1995–1997). Indeed, these last two series were designed specifically for international distribution. Channel Seven's ''[[Home and Away]]'', a teen soap developed as a rival to ''[[Neighbours]]'', has also achieved significant and enduring success on UK television.

===The 1990s and beyond===
''[[Something in the Air (TV series)|Something in the Air]]'', a serial examining a range of characters in a small country town ran on the ABC from 2000 to 2002.

Attempts to replicate the success of daily teen-oriented serials ''Neighbours'' and ''Home and Away'' saw the creation of ''[[Echo Point]]'' (1995) and ''[[Breakers (TV series)|Breakers]]'' (1999) on Network Ten. These programs foregrounded youthful attractive casts and appealing locations but the programs were not long-running successes and ''Neighbours'' and ''Home and Away'' remained the most visible and consistently successful Australian soap operas in production. In their home country, they both attracted respectable although not spectacular ratings in the early 2000s. By 2004, ''Neighbours'' was regularly attracting just under a million viewers per episode<ref>Mercado, p. 231.</ref> – considered at that time a low figure for Australian prime time television. By March 2007, the Australian audience for ''Neighbours'' had fallen to fewer than 700,000 a night. This prompted a revamp of the show's cast, its visual presentation, and a move away from the recently added action-oriented emphasis to refocus the show on the domestic storylines it is traditionally known for.<ref>Kilkelly, Daniel. [http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/a44065/neighbours-ratings-a-cause-for-concern.html 'Neighbours' ratings a cause for concern"] ''Digital Spy.'' March 18, 2007. Accessed 2007-05-19.</ref> During this period ''Neighbours'' and ''Home and Away'' continued to achieve significant ratings in the UK. This and other lucrative overseas markets, along with Australian broadcasting laws that enforce a minimum amount of domestic drama production on commercial television networks, help ensure that both programs remain in production. Both shows get higher total ratings in the UK than in Australia (the UK has three times the total population of Australia) and the UK channels make a major contribution to the production costs.

It has been suggested that with their emphasis on the younger, attractive and charismatic characters, ''Neighbours'' and ''Home and Away'' have found success in the middle ground between glamorous, fantastic U.S. soaps with their wealthy but tragic heroes<ref name=Bowles-119/> and the more grim, naturalistic UK soap operas populated by older, unglamorous characters.<ref name=Bowles-120/> The casts of ''Neighbours'' and ''Home and Away'' are predominantly younger and more attractive than the casts of UK soaps, and without excessive wealth and glamour of the U.S. daytime serial,<ref name=Bowles-119/> a middle-ground in which they have found their lucrative niche.

''Neighbours'' was carried in the United States on the [[Oxygen (TV network)|Oxygen]] [[cable channel]] in March 2004; however it attracted few viewers, perhaps in part due to its scheduling opposite well-established and highly popular U.S. soap operas such as ''All My Children'' and ''The Young and the Restless'', and was dropped by the network shortly afterwards due to low ratings.

''[[headLand]]'' made its debut on Channel Seven in November 2005, the series arose out of a proposed spinoff of ''Home and Away'' that was to have been produced in conjunction with ''Home and Away''{{'s}} UK broadcaster, [[Channel 5 (British TV channel)|Channel 5]]. The idea for the spin-off was scuttled after Five pulled out of the deal, which meant that the show could potentially air on a rival channel in the UK; as such, Five requested that the new show be developed as a standalone series and not be spun off from a series that it owned a stake in. The series premiered in Australia on November 15, 2005, but was not a ratings success and was cancelled two months later on January 23, 2006. The series broadcast on [[E4 (TV channel)|E4]] and Channel 4 in the UK. Nickelodeon's ''[[H2O: Just Add Water|H<sub>2</sub>O: Just Add Water]]'' appeared in July 2006 on Network Ten. Since Connie considered this mention as a torrid soap opera, this was mentioned in the [[Steven Universe]] episode "Love Letters".

After losing the UK television rights to ''Neighbours'' to Five, the BBC commissioned a replacement serial ''[[Out of the Blue (2008 TV series)|Out of the Blue]]'', which was produced in Australia. It debuted as part of BBC One's weekday afternoon schedule on 28 April 2008<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/outoftheblue |title=BBC – Out of the Blue – Homepage |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=2009-01-29 |access-date=2012-04-27}}</ref> but low ratings prompted its move to [[BBC Two]] on 19 May 2008.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/tv--radio/not-out-of-the-blue/2008/05/12/1210444287750.html|title=Out of the Blue fails to impress UK viewers|publisher=AAP|access-date=2008-05-17 | location=Melbourne | date=May 12, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whatsontv.co.uk/news/3265 |title=What's on TV – Top TV listings guide, plus soaps, news, prizes and previews |publisher=Whatsontv.co.uk |access-date=2012-04-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707002638/http://www.whatsontv.co.uk/news/3265 |archive-date=2012-07-07 }}</ref> The series was cancelled after its first season.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7483890.stm|title=BBC scrap Out of the Blue soap|website=BBC News|date=July 1, 2008|access-date=2008-09-09}}</ref>

''[[Neighbours]]''{{'}} continued low ratings in Australia resulted in it being moved to Ten's new digital channel, [[Eleven (TV channel)|Eleven]] on January 11, 2011.<ref name="EleventhHeaven">{{Cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/eleventh-heaven-as-ten-network-hails-debut/story-e6frg8zx-1225986587144|title=Eleventh heaven as Ten Network hails debut|last=Chessell|first=James|date=13 January 2011|work=The Australian |publisher=[[News Limited]]|access-date=12 January 2011}}</ref> However, it continues to achieve reasonable ratings on [[Channel 5 (UK)|Channel 5]] in the United Kingdom, and as of March 2013 still reportedly achieved significant international sales.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.com.au/soaps/s14/neighbours/news/a464336/neighbours-producer-insists-soap-will-reach-30th-anniversary.html |author=Sophie Dainty |title='Neighbours' producer insists soap will reach 30th anniversary |publisher=[[digitalspy.co.uk]] |date=9 March 2013 |access-date=2013-03-30}}</ref>

''Neighbours'' was cancelled due to Channel 5, the UK broadcaster of the show, deciding to drop the programme – the money they were paying for the rights was providing the majority of its funding. It ended on 29 July 2022. Months after its series finale, [[Fremantle Australia]], the programme's production company, announced on 17 November 2022, that production on the programme would restart in 2023 after the company agreed on a deal with [[Amazon Freevee]]. Amazon Freevee aired the programme for free in the UK and the US while Network 10 retained the rights to the programme.<ref>{{cite web|last=Earp|first=Catherine|title=Neighbours announced for shock 2023 return following Channel 5 axe|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/neighbours/a41988592/neighbours-returning-2023-channel-5-axe/|publisher=[[Digital Spy]]|access-date=17 November 2022|date=17 September 2022}}</ref>

In February 2025, the series was cancelled again, with production concluding in July and episodes ceasing to air in December.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kilkelly |first1=Daniel |title=''Neighbours'' axe officially confirmed after 40 years of drama |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/neighbours/a63855528/neighbours-axed-again/ |website=[[Digital Spy]] |access-date=20 February 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250221001716/https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/neighbours/a63855528/neighbours-axed-again/ |archive-date=21 February 2025 |date=20 February 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Turnbull |first1=Tiffanie |title=''Neighbours'' cancelled – again -– two years after Amazon lifeline |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8710r5v0p7o |access-date=21 February 2025 |work=[[BBC]] |date=21 February 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250221153435/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8710r5v0p7o |archive-date=21 February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Whittock |first1=Jesse |title=''Neighbours'' Cancelled Again, This Time by Amazon |url=https://deadline.com/2025/02/neighbours-cancelled-again-amazon-1236297102/ |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |publisher=[[Penske Media Corporation]] |access-date=21 February 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250221153800/https://deadline.com/2025/02/neighbours-cancelled-again-amazon-1236297102/ |archive-date=21 February 2025 |location=United States |date=21 February 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref>