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.
Premise
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. The episodes also focus on the revelations caused by the disappearance of a popular student.
Cast and characters
Olivia Junkeer as Yashvi Rebecchi
Benny Turland as Hendrix Greyson
Jemma Donovan as Harlow Robinson
Georgie Stone as Mackenzie Hargreaves
Rob Mills as Finn Kelly
Sharon Johal as Dipi Rebecchi
Lachlan Millar as Richie Amblin
Darius Amarfio-Jefferson as Jeremiah Annan
Mahalia Brown as Cherie Reyner
Nikolai Egel as Marty Muggleton
Grace O'Sullivan as Olivia Lane
Ellmir Asipi as Ollie Sudekis
Amanda Harrison as Angela Lane
Episodes
Production
Conception and development
The show was developed by Neighbours executive producer Jason Herbison, who had wanted to create a Neighbours spin-off for a number of years. 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". Herbison commented, "It's great for teen-based and intergenerational stories with students, teachers and cranky parents." 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. 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".Neighbours: Erinsborough High is the first spin-off series of Neighbours. Producers use the series to explore issues that affect a younger audience. 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?" Herbison also confirmed that the cast would be familiar to viewers, as they were introduced during the main show a few months beforehand. 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)."
Cast member Olivia Junkeer said the series is noticeably different from Neighbours, as the storylines are "grittier, darker and more sinister". The series also uses different cameras and lighting, and the scripts contain swear words. 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. 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."
During the episodes, each character makes a video diary, which allows the audience to hear and see their innermost thoughts. 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."