Neighbours: What is freevee, is Neighbours coming back, what is freevee Amazon

The popular Australian soap was dropped by Channel 5 last year – but is Ramsey Street set to return?

Neighbours will return in 2023 (Photo by Kristian Dowling/Getty Images)

We thought we had lost it forever, but Neighbours is set to return to our screens next year after finding a new home.

In an unexpected and bizarre twist, the much-loved Australian soap seemed to have reached its climax when it was cancelled by Channel 5 and confirmed it would ceased production of the long-running Australian soap in June.

First aired in 1985 and introduced fans to the living of characters living in the fictional Melbourne suburb of Erinsborough, while its final episode brought in an average audience of “2.5 million, according to Channel 5.

Fans were left heartbroken when news broke of the soap ended after a total of 37 years and almost 9,000 episodes, however, it appears Ramsey Street will not be confined to the history books and Dr Kennedy and co. will live on via new Amazon streaming service Freevee.

Following fan upset that surrounded the ending of the show, it is believed Amazon began discussion with fellow streaming service Fremantle and began negotiations to give the soap a quick return to UK screens.

And in even better news for viewers, it has been confirmed they will also be able to stream literally thousands of episodes after they obtained streaming rights to years of previous episodes.The series will also stream on Prime Video in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

Neighbours cancelled: End of the road for Ramsay Street as soap fails to find new broadcaster

What is Freevee

Freevee is a brand new FREE streaming service from Amazon. Presently, it is only currently available in the US and UK, however, there are plans to launch the streamer in Germany later this year.

Amazon have said they hope more people will consider using Freevee due to it being free of charge – unlike many other streaming services.

It has also been confirmed that Prime Video in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada will be streaming Neighbours.

When will Neighbours return

While there is no set date for the series to return it has been confirmed to start early next year, with the world premiere will be in the second half of 2023.

Commenting on the news, head of original content and programming at Amazon Studios, Lauren Anderson, noted: “Neighbours has captivated its audience for nearly 40 years, building a dedicated and loyal following for the lives and stories of the characters on Ramsay Street.“With the power of streaming, we’re able to offer a catalogue of thousands of Neighbours episodes for new audiences to discover this legendary series and current fans to relive their favourite moments.“We look forward to immersing the audience in new Ramsay Street experiences when we relaunch the show next year for Amazon Freevee and Prime Video customers.”