Editing Soap opera (section)

===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.