The Neighbours’ 2023 TV reboot has been met with shock and outrage from some fans over the shock nuptials of Toadie and Terese, but just how many people tuned in for the soaps return.
TV Blackbox can confirm a total national audience of 244,000 tuned in to see the reboot of the beloved Australian drama. This figure includes viewers in metro and regional markets and watching via Free-to-air or streaming on the 10play app.
The 244k figure also includes viewers who watched an encore broadcast of the episode on 10 Peach at 6:30pm.
174,000 viewers nationally (122,000 metro) tuned in for the premiere broadcast at 4:30pm Monday on Channel 10.
While these numbers are certainly a long way down from the 1.09 Million that tuned in last year to witness Kylie Minogue mumble three words in what was supposed to be the show grand farewell, it’s worth noting the first-run audience figure was up 15% on what the show was averaging in 2022.
The reboot of Neighbours has been commissioned by Amazon Prime Video for its new FreeVee app, and ultimately it will be the show’s ability to attract returning viewers for this service which will determine how many more years the show can remain on our screens.
The episode concluded with a jaw-dropping twist, as Terese, portrayed by Rebekah Elmaloglou, chose to marry Toadie (Ryan Moloney) over her long-time love interest Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis). Fans flooded social media, particularly Elmaloglou’s Instagram, expressing a range of emotions from disbelief to heartbreak.
“What in the name of Ramsay Street was that?” questioned one dismayed viewer. Others pondered whether the events could be a dream sequence or related to a character’s memory issues: “Please tell me that ending was just a bad dream or something! Terese belongs with Paul.”
Several fans, however, applauded the unexpected plot twist and refreshed storytelling. “Great writing. Keep it up and it’ll be a smash. Loved the plot twist. Didn’t see it coming at all – great work,” a viewer commented.
Whether praised or panned, the revamped Neighbours has indeed sparked a robust dialogue among its audience. As the show aims to establish itself anew on Amazon’s FreeVee, its success will hinge not just on ratings, but also on its ability to sustain long-time fans while attracting new ones.
Im giving it a chance for one month, if it doesnt get better than this, its a goodbye lol not a touch on the old neighbours!
The first episode was a bit of a shock but the next episode made more sense.
So far it’s feeling fresh… H&A need to take note.
Therese and toadie are not a match Therese should be with Paul and Mel should still be in it with toadie love Mel bring her back please
Wanted it back, got it back and absolutely loving it ❤️
The acting is absolutely shocking…so bad I can no longer watch
Can’t get my head around this reboot
How does tresa and toady get together
It’s BS
Not sure if I’ll continue to watch
Absolute garbage……an insult to my intelligence … put the cooking shows back on , you lost me channel 10………
A waste of money, this show died years ago and bringinging it back its like in a coma. Bring back cooking show one judge Judy.