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On this episode of The Game of Nerds Podcast, we are chatting about a show I’ve NEVER seen, Neighbours. The Queen of the Ramsay Street Gossip and our very own, Lindsey Bannister, sat down to talk to us about the hit Australian soap opera that’s been going on since 1985! In the seven years, I’ve been running The Game of Nerds the top five searched fandoms always changed with what is popular or about to come out. Once Lindsay started reporting on Neighbours in 2017 that all changed. Neighbours has consistently been in that top 5 every month since then, and that just flat out amazes me. What I’ve come to realize though is that Neighbours doesn’t really get that much coverage. Over the past 4 years, Lindsay has created a home for Neighbours and it’s fans at The Game of Nerds.

While it would be impossible to talk about all 30 years in a single episode, we did talk about the history of the show and why it’s such a hit with fans. It all started with three families on Ramsay Street. The series deals with hard-hitting soap opera storylines and has ridiculous nonsense weaved in-between. Yes, actors have died, left the street, or got amnesia (this is a common occurrence in the series). But the series has been known to bring back characters years later, sucking in fans once again. It’s the equation that clearly has made this series a cult classic. Neighbour fans can watch when they want and never really be out of the loop. It’s the kind of show that gives you the drama but also the laughs. When asked if it could be compared to anything else, it really can’t. The series originated in Australia in 1985, but once it crossed over to the UK, it only got bigger. This is how Lindsey got attached to the series. It was just what you did every day after school. You did your homework and before dinner, you watched Neighbours together as a family. This was well before the time of DVRs and on-demand, so if you missed a big episode, you hoped you had a friend who recorded it on their VCR. While this series may not be a household name in the United States, the series has launched the careers of some of our favorite Hollywood celebrities like Russell Crowe, Margot Robbie, and Liam Hemsworth, to name a few.

At the peak of the Neighbours hype, there were books created and even a board game. The series has created a passionate fanbase online where people come together to talk about episodes and even poke fun. Neighbours started out as a very white neighborhood and, over the decades, has blossomed into a series that showcases different people of colors and lifestyles. The LGBTQ community is very involved with this series because of the characters and stories it’s done. Once again, making it a series that is relatable to a variety of demographics. Before the pandemic, the cast was even doing special meet and greets with fans which was a lot of fun to attend. Thankfully, the pandemic has just made the community grow closer together because of the large fan base online. It’s always daunting to take on a new series, especially one that has been on for 30 years. Lindsey assures fans that you can jump into Neighbours at any point. Yes, it will take you a couple of episodes to get bearings, but it’s pretty easy to figure out. Neighbours are extremely easy to watch if you don’t live in the United States. It’s available on sites like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, etc. If you live inside the US, there is only one place to watch Neighbours, and that’s Tubi. You can create a free subscription with them to watch the most recent 25 episodes. While it’s not all 5,922 episodes, it is a great place to start. We hope this podcast episode gets you to check out all the Ramsay Street gossip sometime!

Guest Information

Lindsey Bannister
Twitter: www.twitter.com/squeaky_the_pin
Instagram: www.instagram.com/squeakythepin
Neighbours Content on The Game of Nerds: https://thegameofnerds.com/category/television/neighbours/

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