Australian Soap Opera NEIGHBOURS Resumes Production

The long-running Australian TV soap opera Neighbours has announced that production is set to restart later this week, according to Variety. The show will start back up despite the coronavirus outbreak causing much of the country to remain in lockdown.

The show's producer, Fremantle Media said in a statement, "(On Monday) we returned from a scheduled production break, originally two weeks that we extended to three weeks to give our production team time to refine our production model to meet the gov't guidelines re. health & safety and social distancing. We will be filming with a small unit this Thursday and then full production resumes Monday."

"Due to the style of our show and the vast size of our production studios and back lot, we realized we are in a position to resume filming in a way that protects everyone's health and still delivers the 'Neighbours' viewers know and love," Freemantle continued.

The production sites have also been divided into three production areas and one control area, with no crew crossover, so that if there are any incidents, the movements of anyone impacted can be easily traced. New camera positions and creative editing will employed to ensure this has minimal impact on screen.

Fremantle said that it has worked closely on the plan, and that no pressure has been put on cast and crew to return, if they are not comfortable. Special measures have been taken for older employees, and the company says it is willing to make further adjustments.

A spokesman said, "Communication and collaboration is the key. The response has been overwhelmingly positive with everyone keen to work and produce the show we all love so much."

Set in a fictional suburb of Melbourne, where it charts the personal and professional lives of its residents, "Neighbours" has been on air almost continuously since 1985.

Read the original article on Variety.

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