Does the show need an injection of life, if so, then what?

[adam436]

9 hours ago, cymbaline said:

It's interesting that older, established actors are increasingly showing up as guests as well. It seems to be happening more than it did

Not just guests, but regluars as well: Jeremy Lindsay-Taylor and Nicole Da Silva. 

There was a period a few years ago where we had a number of established and well-known actors in the regular cast like Marcus Graham, Sonia Todd, Robert Mammone, Jay Laga'aia and Georgie Parker. I don't remember Australian drama production being in such a bad place in the late 2000s/early 2010s when H&A was attracted all those household names though. 

[James Martin]

I suppose it's security.  H&A's outlived Neighbours - twice - now and it doesn't seem to be in danger of going anywhere.  Whereas Neighbours relied on the UK market, Home & Away doesn't.  It's been completely ghettoised by Channel 5 this decade and it's not hurt it.

[James Martin]

Copied from the UK discussion thread but I think I've got the injection...

So, we've had more heartbreak for Levi & Mac.  More...

Now, I get the show needs light and shade but this whole show was built on a couple who couldn't have kids, so fostered instead.

I've heard about how the WA storyline bought back lapsed viewers.  I get why; Irene's departure bought me back into the fold after years of being very passive.

They're missing a golden opportunity here to take the show back to its roots and recover some lapsed viewers.  It's not beyond the realms of possibility at this point that you could move Mac & Levi into the big house to start a foster family.  It's also not too big of a stretch that Pippa could be some sort of voluntary adviser for DOCS, and Alf & Maz convince her to come in as some sort of mentor to help them get started.  I could go without a few explosions if they threw the chequebook at getting Debra back for a few weeks!

In my mind the idea of Mac & Levi as a new Tom & Pippa is now too good an idea not to roll the dice on.  It could be an incredible way to celebrate the 40th anniversary; we've watched them go through the same heartbreak one assumes Tom & Pippa went through in the 70s.  I would love to see them take in waifs and strays who were able to turn their lives around.  Who knows, they might take in a child actress who hangs around for 20 years!

[adam436]

Cash and Eden have also discussed the possibility recently too, plus you've got seasoned foster parents in John, Marilyn, Roo and possibly Leah who have been around forever. And David was also heavily involved in one of Roo's fostering storylines.

There's so many options for foster parents right now, especially with so many of the younger cast seemingly wanting to stay long-term.

 

I get H&A wants to be "adult", but teenagers can have storylines that aren't just "X has a crush on Y" etc that still engage an adult audience.

Hollyoaks has started using its school-aged teenagers again with the Hutchinson kids and others, and it has made the show fresh again after a somewhat stale couple of years.

[James Martin]

Do we know that Eden is actually going to live?

[pembie]

4 hours ago, James Martin said:

Do we know that Eden is actually going to live?

I think it’s more of a awareness story of the condition l don’t think Eden will actually die 

[Revealed]

Home & Away can't go back to its roots. The world was a much better place in 1988 and too much damage has been done to modern society to reverse that. This is why I say the show is in good shape given the circumstances. 

They've got it right with their casting more often than not, it's usually what happened later that's the issue.

Take for example Emma Jackson in 1990. A character I was very fond of at the time. Today's issues simply didn't exist at the time. When I saw it repeated many years later it wasn't the same because we now know what became of Dannii Minogue. Something that could never have been anticipated in 1990.

I know something similar could happen with the current cast but as it hasn't happened yet let's just enjoy the moment.

[j.laur5]

1 hour ago, Revealed said:

Home & Away can't go back to its roots. The world was a much better place in 1988 and too much damage has been done to modern society to reverse that. This is why I say the show is in good shape given the circumstances. 

They've got it right with their casting more often than not, it's usually what happened later that's the issue.

Take for example Emma Jackson in 1990. A character I was very fond of at the time. Today's issues simply didn't exist at the time. When I saw it repeated many years later it wasn't the same because we now know what became of Dannii Minogue. Something that could never have been anticipated in 1990.

I know something similar could happen with the current cast but as it hasn't happened yet let's just enjoy the moment.

I can’t say show too great at moment too many characters feel directionless and stale. 
 

My favourite era was 2014-2018. 

[adam436]

4 hours ago, Revealed said:

Home & Away can't go back to its roots. The world was a much better place in 1988 and too much damage has been done to modern society to reverse that. This is why I say the show is in good shape given the circumstances. 

I know H&A will never return to being a full-on teenage soap again, but I do believe the producers could find a better balance. Would it really hurt the show to lose a few of the cookie-cutter younger characters and replace them with teenagers? The show could still tackle the "adult" storylines with them rather than just teenage crushes, puberty etc. 

 

4 hours ago, Revealed said:

They've got it right with their casting more often than not, it's usually what happened later that's the issue.

I agree with this statement too. The casting has generally been good, but then they've been served so poorly by the writers or not used to their full potential. Xander, Kirby and more recently Mali were really underused, whereas Jessica Redmayne deserved better than the material she was given. The producers definitely have their favourites - such as Tane, Eden, Theo - and some of the others I've mentioned get lost or sidelined because of that. 

[Zig]

On 06/08/2026 at 17:46, adam436 said:

Do you mean Summer Bay House? It wouldn't seem realistic (to me, anyway!) unless Alf, Marilyn and Roo moved out. Having said that, the producers did find a way to move Zac and Leah in there when their family expanded, but at least Leah had a close relationship with Alf. 

I always think it was a missed opportunity not pairing Leah off with Miles and Zac earlier and having her move into Summer Bay House sooner, since both stuck around for 4 years and it was clear that Ada was in it for the long haul by that point. I don't know how long Miles and Leah were together since I wasn't really watching 2005-early 2013, but I know we had Leah/Roman, Leah/Elijah and Miles/Kirsty before they got together. And with Zac, we had less than 18 months of them as a married couple, so their family unit of Oscar, Evie, Matt, VJ and Hunter didn't really last that long. Ada had time off during her second pregnancy during that relationship though.

Leah/Miles should of been together way longer tbh I wish Josh stayed on.

 

Read this forum today and personally I have some things that may help give the show what it needs.

 

Fostering, John as a solo foster parent would be amazing. Irene's place was always for strays maybe David/Marilyn relationship and them doing some fostering.

 

We need characters everyone can relate to, put some 13 to 25 year olds in at least.

 

I think character returns would be great as Brax/Ricky and Dean/Ziggy gave HAA some highly rated episodes. Bring characters who were popular from each era back, people like Jasmine, Martha and Matt to name a few.

We need some characters such as Tane, Eden, Cash whos been on a while or the pointless ones like Jo and Abi gone and some new characters introduced.