Neighbours: Erinsborough High | |
---|---|
Genre | Soap opera |
Created by | Jason Herbison |
Directed by | Jonathon Dutton |
Starring |
|
Country of origin | Australia |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 5 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Jason Herbison |
Producer | Natalie Lynch |
Running time | 22 minutes |
Release | |
Original network | My5 10 Play |
Original release | 11 November 2019 |
Related | |
Neighbours |
Neighbours: Erinsborough High is an Australian streaming television series produced for video on demand and catch up TV services My5 and 10 Play. It was released on 11 November 2019. The series is a spin-off of soap opera Neighbours . Featuring new and regular characters from the main show, the series follows a group of students at Erinsborough High School as they prepare for their final exams, and focuses on the various issues they are facing, as well as the disappearance of one of the students.
Neighbours: Erinsborough High takes place during the Year 12 exam period, and explores issues that affect teenagers at school, including bullying, sexuality, parental and peer pressure, and teacher-student relationships. [1] The episodes also focus on the revelations caused by the disappearance of a popular student. [2]
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Monday" | Jonathon Dutton | Nicolette Minster | 11 November 2019 |
2 | "Tuesday" | Jonathon Dutton | Jessica Paine | 11 November 2019 |
3 | "Wednesday" | Jonathon Dutton | Melanie Sano | 11 November 2019 |
4 | "Thursday" | Jonathon Dutton | Matthew Bon | 11 November 2019 |
5 | "Friday" | Jonathon Dutton | Libby Butler | 11 November 2019 |
The show was developed by Neighbours executive producer Jason Herbison, who had wanted to create a Neighbours spin-off for a number of years. [3] Herbison told Andrew Mercado of Mediaweek that a "there has always been talk" about creating a spin-off centred around the hospital, police station, or high school environments, but as it had been 20 years since the end of Heartbreak High , the high school was "an obvious choice". [4] Herbison commented, "It's great for teen-based and intergenerational stories with students, teachers and cranky parents." [4] The serial's UK broadcaster Channel 5 liked the idea of focusing on the high school and commissioned the spin-off with the support of Network 10. [3] They had also wanted an exclusive programme for their VOD platform My5, after Neighbours' ratings increased in July 2019, which Herbison said "was unusual because volume usually dips during a UK summer". [4]
Neighbours: Erinsborough High is the first spin-off series of Neighbours. [2] Producers use the series to explore issues that affect a younger audience. [5] Herbison described it as "an exciting opportunity to shine a light on one of our most iconic playing areas – the local high school. It's long been an ambition to delve deeper into some of our workplaces and the characters who populate them. Who knows what we might do next?" [6] Herbison also confirmed that the cast would be familiar to viewers, as they were introduced during the main show a few months beforehand. [4] Mercado reported that the series has a dark tone and the storylines focus on "social issues, inappropriate behaviour and the sweetest moment for ground-breaking Mackenzie (Georgie Stone)." [4]
Cast member Olivia Junkeer said the series is noticeably different from Neighbours, as the storylines are "grittier, darker and more sinister". [7] The series also uses different cameras and lighting, and the scripts contain swear words. [7] Junkeer also confirmed that it would follow the same storylines as the main show, so her character "has the exact same mindset" and what happens to her in Neighbours is also mentioned in the spin-off. [7] She thought the series would relate to teenagers in 2019, as it highlights the "ups and downs of high school" and "dives into social media, relationships between girls and boys, girls and girls, boys and boys. It shows every side to being a teenager and it's excellent." [7]
During the episodes, each character makes a video diary, which allows the audience to hear and see their innermost thoughts. [8] Actor Benny Turland said this format helps to show how his character Hendrix Greyson is really feeling beyond the "cool guy act" he puts on. He explained, "as he talks to the camera, you can see how things get to him. It makes it a lot more personal, and I think those video diaries are one of the things that make Erinsborough High special." [8]
Several cast members from Neighbours cross over to Neighbours: Erinsborough High. Neighbours regulars Olivia Junkeer (Yashvi Rebecchi) and Benny Turland (Hendrix Greyson), and recurring stars Georgie Stone (Mackenzie Hargreaves) and Lachlan Miller (Richie Amblin), play major roles in the spin-off, [9] along with Grace O'Sullivan and Darius Amarfio-Jefferson as Olivia Lane and Jeremiah Annan respectively. [10] [11] Stone reprised her role following her initial Neighbours storyline, prior to returning as a regular cast member in 2020. [12] O'Sullivan appeared in Neighbours prior to her role in Erinsborough High, leading in to the spin-off's storyline. [13] Nikolai Egel and Mahalia Brown appear as teachers Marty Muggleton and Cherie Reyner respectively, characters who have both appeared intermittently in Neighbours since September 2019. [14] [15] Ellmir Asipi also reprises his Neighbours guest role of Ollie Sudekis. [16] Regular Neighbours cast members Jemma Donovan (Harlow Robinson), Rob Mills (Finn Kelly) and Sharon Johal (Dipi Rebecchi) also appear, along with Amanda Harrison (Angela Lane). [17]
Neighbours: Erinsborough High is produced and distributed by Fremantle. [18] The series was filmed at Fremantle's Global Television studios in Forest Hill, Victoria, where the main show is also filmed. [19] The episodes are directed by Jonathon Dutton, produced by Natalie Lynch, [3] and executively produced by Herbison. [17]
When Neighbours producers Natalie Lynch & Natalie Mandel were in the planning stages for Erinsborough High in May 2019, they reached out to LateNite Films to get a quote for the visual effects and colour grading for the series. The original plan was for the in-house Neighbours post team to handle data wrangling and offline editing using Media Composer at their studios in Nunawading, and LateNite team will tackle grade, sound, online and delivery. However, by July it was agreed that LateNite Films would handle the full post-production workflow using Final Cut Pro X. [20] LateNite Films Producer and Editor Chris Hocking told Ronny Courtens of fcp.co that "The producers gave us a huge amount of freedom and trust to use whatever tools we wanted, and allowed us to design our own workflow." He said that he is used to an Avid workflow and love certain aspects about it, but feels way more creative when using Final Cut Pro X. [20]
The post-production process began in one of the spare production offices, with the LateNite Films Post Production crew Chris Hocking and Kevin Luk assembling the show starting from the first day of the shoot. The main show has a traditional paper-based workflow, and a maximum of two card dumps a day, while Hocking adopted a paperless workflow and ingested cards up to six times a day. [20] The footage was synchronized through an automated process with third-party software, and Luk organised the files into ScriptSync-style keywords which he had prepared based on the script before the shoot. The process enabled Luk to assemble all five episodes in a couple of hours after wrapping the whole shoot. [20]
Chris Hocking continued the director cut in the LateNite office. He completed the rest of the editing process within Final Cut Pro X, and some audio clean up which was done in iZotope RX7. Both Hocking and Luk did a few VFX cleanups in After Effects & Mocha Pro, and Luk completed the grade within Final Cut Pro X. Hocking recalled the audio mixing process within Final Cut Pro X was more time consuming compared to using a DAW such as Pro Tools or Logic Pro X. Still, he recognized the benefits for budget reasons and creative flexibility. "if I couldn't fix something easily in the sound design stage, we didn't have time to do ADR for example, I could simply adjust the edit there and then."
The series spans five 22-minute episodes, which run parallel to the main show. [1] [9] They were available to watch as a box set from 11 November 2019 on My5 and 12 November on 10 Play. [21] [22] The series was also available on RTÉ Player in Ireland from 11 November the same day as My5's release. [23]
Johnathon Hughes of the Radio Times said the series was "edgier and looser than Neighbours proper, with impressive production values and stylistic touches that establish an identity outside of the parent programme". [24] He named Junkeer, Turland and Amarfio-Jefferson as "standouts" and praised Neighbours for the diversity amongst the cast. [24] Hughes felt that unlike some "gimmicky" spin-offs, there was "a sense of point and purpose to this", and while the series was released into the competitive teen high-school drama market "the pacy, involving first episode sets up as an impressive attempt at bringing soap sensibilities to the streaming drama landscape." [24]
Digital Spy's Daniel Kilkelly thought the series "set itself apart from the main show with a unique "grungy" filming style – a far cry from the sun-kissed scenes we're used to on Neighbours itself." [25] He noted the strong performances by the central teenage cast and the focus on Mackenzie's romance with Richie, which paved "the way for some important and groundbreaking scenes in episodes four and five, exploring Mackenzie's transgender story in much more detail than the main show, with some open and thought-provoking conversations." [25]
Jessica Lynch from 10 daily dubbed the spin-off "Riverdale meets Pretty Little Liars". [26] She wrote that the first episode has "an air of that Neighbours-style drama we know and love", before giving viewers "major PLL vibes". [26]
Ramsay Street is the fictional cul-de-sac in which the characters of the Australian soap opera Neighbours live. The street is set in the equally fictional Melbourne suburb of Erinsborough. Neighbours storylines primarily centre on the residents of the street, which was named after Jack Ramsay, the grandfather of original character Max Ramsay. A blackjack game between Jack and Sam Robinson determined whose name the street would be named after. Only six houses on the street are featured on a regular basis; numbers 22 to 32. Number 34 was featured for the only time in 2018. The cul-de-sac is at the end of a long street and the rest of the houses are on the other side of the main road which bisects it. The street behind Ramsay Street is named Mirrabooka Drive. A storyline within the show saw the name of the street nearly changed to Ramsbottom Street. Harold Bishop led a protest against it and won.
Erinsborough is the fictional suburb where the Australian soap opera Neighbours is set. The show focuses on the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the suburb. Neighbours storyline primarily centres on the residents of Ramsay Street within other Erinsborough locations, namely The Waterhole, Harold's Café, Lassiters Hotel, Erinsborough High School and Erinsborough Hospital. Erinsborough, which is a loose anagram of Neighbours, was originally going to be named Erinsfield. Throughout much of the show's run it was not stated in which city of Australia Erinsborough was located. The rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne meant that scripts did not mention that Erinsborough was a suburb of the latter city until 1994. Since the 2000s it has been explicitly stated that Erinsborough is a suburb of Melbourne.
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap Sons and Daughters. Although successful in Melbourne, Neighbours underperformed in the Sydney market and was cancelled by Seven four months after it began airing. It was immediately commissioned by rival Network Ten for a second production season, which began screening on 20 January 1986. Neighbours became the longest-running drama series in Australian television history. In 2005, it was inducted into the Logie Hall of Fame.
Amy Greenwood is a fictional character from the Australian soap Neighbours, played by Jacinta Stapleton. She made her first on-screen appearance on 10 July 1997. Amy is characterised as flirtatious and ditzy, especially interested in fashion and gossip. During her original duration in the series, writers created a long-running on/off relationship with Lance Wilkinson. Amy later begins relationship with flight attendant Damien Smith and elopes with him after discovering she is pregnant. Amy departed on 21 March 2000. Five years later, Stapleton reprised her role for the show's 20th anniversary episode in July 2005. She reprised the role again in December 2020 and later re-joined the regular cast. Her final appearance was on 28 July 2022 during the serial's finale.
Angie Rebecchi is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Lesley Baker. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 17 January 1995. Angie departed in 1996, but she returned for several weeks in 2002 and then in 2003 for her youngest son Toadie's wedding to Dee Bliss. The following year, Angie made another brief visit and she made a cameo in the 20th anniversary episode, which was broadcast in July 2005. The character returned again in 2006 and 2008. Baker reprised the role in February 2013, and again in August 2015. After a brief appearance in the Summer Stories webisodes in January 2017, Angie made guest returns in April and December 2017, on 12 February 2018, 11 March 2019 and in July 2022 for the show's finale.
Neighbours is a long-running Australian television soap opera created by television executive Reg Watson. It was first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985 and currently airs on digital channel 10 Peach. Since its inception, several spin-offs have been produced, including books, music, DVDs and internet webisodes. Several annuals and books by pulp fiction writer Carl Ruhen were released in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Barry Crocker's version of the theme tune was the first music release from the show, which also has included a Christmas album and the show's love theme. Two potential television spin-offs have reached the pilot stage, while five DVD box sets of Neighbours episodes from the beginning have been released. In 2013, Neighbours launched their first webisode series Steph in Prison. Several other webisode series' has since been released, with the most recent series SheilaTV becoming available from December 2018. Other merchandise includes official video and board games, stationary and clothing.
Andrea Somers is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Madeleine West. West had previously played the role of Dee Bliss, who disappeared after a car crash into the ocean after marrying Toadie Rebecchi. West originally reported that she was returning to Neighbours as Dee Bliss, but it was later revealed she was playing the conniving Andrea Somers, who comes to Erinsborough to scam Toadie by pretending to be Dee. West stated that returning to the sets was a homecoming for her and she was thrilled to be invited back to the cast. Andrea made her first appearance on 20 January 2017 and her first stint ended on 23 March. Andrea is initially credited as Dee Bliss and is depicted as calm, polite and charismatic. As her identity of Andrea Somers is revealed, her character increasingly becomes impatient, insecure, restless and easily agitated.
Dipika 'Dipi' Rebecchi is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Sharon Johal. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 24 April 2017. Johal originally auditioned for the role of Dipi's younger sister Mishti Sharma. Actress Scarlett Vas secured the role and producers changed Dipi to better suit Johal. Dipi is part of the extended Rebecchi family introduced into Neighbours, joining established regular character Toadfish Rebecchi. She is married to Shane Rebecchi and they move to Erinsborough with their two daughters Yashvi and Kirsha Rebecchi. She soon becomes the new owner of Harold's café.
Neighbours celebrated its 35th Anniversary during the week comprising 16–20 March 2020. This consisted of the five regular weekday episodes as well as five extra episodes as part of a series titled Neighbours: Endgame, aired as the second part to the regular episodes.
Shane Rebecchi is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Neighbours. He was originally played by Greg O'Meara from his first appearance on 8 September 1994. Shane was introduced along with his parents and two younger brothers. His first stint in the show ends with him going to prison after committing a string of robberies, before escaping and trying to convince his brother Stonefish Rebecchi to hide him. Shane's exit scenes aired on 25 July 1995. The character was reintroduced 22 years later on 17 April 2017, with actor Nicholas Coghlan cast in the role. He was introduced along with his wife Dipi Rebecchi and daughters Yashvi Rebecchi and Kirsha Rebecchi, as part of a big expansion of the Rebecchi family. Executive producer Jason Herbison called Shane "one of the great untapped characters from Neighbours history".
Yashvi Rebecchi is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Neighbours, played by Olivia Junkeer. She was created when producers struggled to find the right male actor to play the Rebecchis' son, which resulted in them changing the character's gender at the last moment. Yashvi was introduced along with her parents, sister and aunt as part of an expansion of the serial's Rebecchi family. Junkeer auditioned for the role shortly after finishing her last year of school. She doubted she would win the part, as the producers thought she was too old for the role. However, she learned she had been cast in December 2016 and she started on set the following month. Junkeer was pleased to be representing fellow women of colour on Australian television and said her on-screen family represented her own mixed-race family. She made her first appearance in the episode broadcast on 24 April 2017. Junkeer also played the role in the 2019 spin-off series Erinsborough High.
"Neighbours: The Finale" comprises the 8901st, 8902nd and 8903rd episodes of the Australian television soap opera Neighbours. It premiered on 28 July 2022 on both Network 10 and 10 Peach in Australia, and on 29 July on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom. It was conceived as the end of the serial, after it was cancelled due to the loss of its UK broadcaster and failure to find an alternative buyer, and production ceased after it was filmed. The episodes were written by Shane Isheev and executive producer Jason Herbison, and directed by Scott Major. Production on Neighbours ended on 10 June. Production and cast had known the show was facing cancellation since 2021 and ideas for a suitable finale were already being planned at that point. In response to the news of the show's potential cancellation becoming public in early 2022, an online petition amassed more than 67,000 signatures to save the show. The petition did not change Channel 5's decision, who maintained that Neighbours remained popular and ending the show was solely a "business decision". Production were then tasked with bringing the show to an end within a few months. Herbison had already envisioned an ideal way to end the series, and Isheev and other writers supported his plans. Herbison did not wish to end the show with excessive finality, such as in the destruction of the primary location of Ramsay Street, and opted for a celebratory theme that acknowledged the show's history.
Hendrix Greyson is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Neighbours, played by Ben Turland. Turland's manager did not tell him that he was not what the producers were looking for when he submitted a self-tape. However, he received an audition a week later and was flown to Melbourne from Sydney for a chemistry read with members of the cast. Three days later, he was informed that he had been cast as Hendrix. He joined the main cast in his first ongoing television role. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 13 September 2019. Hendrix was introduced as the estranged son of Pierce Greyson. His arrival led to further exploration of Pierce's backstory and established a new family unit in the serial.
Mackenzie Hargreaves is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Georgie Stone. She made her first appearance on 30 August 2019. Mackenzie is the soap's first transgender character, added to the series after Stone wrote to executive producer Jason Herbison to pitch the character. She arrives as a new student at Erinsborough High School and is connected to the established Rebecchi family, who she knew prior to her gender transition. Following her initial guest storyline, Mackenzie was a central character in spin-off series Neighbours: Erinsborough High before being promoted to the regular cast of Neighbours in 2020. She remained with the series until its finale episode, broadcast on 28 July 2022, and will reprise the role when the series resumes in 2023.
Olivia Junkeer is an Australian actress of Sri Lankan and European descent. She is best known for her role as Yashvi Rebecchi in Neighbours and Erinsborough High. She also portrays Mia in the ABC comedy series Why Are You Like This.