The long-running Australian soap opera Neighbours is being recut with AI into a microdrama designed to be watched on phones, sparking a debate among the show’s actors and the industry over the wider implications of television archives being mined for new content. RoseBerry Media, which specialises in making “vertical television” for phones, has repurposed original episodes of Neighbours for distribution on its Epis platform, using an AI-assisted production tool called RedSnapper. The microdrama made from the footage will initially focus on Margot Robbie’s character, Donna Freedman, who she played from 2008 to 2011.
Two of Robbie’s storylines will be recut into vertical micro-episodes, creating about 150 minutes of content. Neighbours star Stefan Dennis has voiced concerns over the project, telling the Herald Sun it was “unbelievably invasive, morally and legally wrong and somehow it appears we can’t do anything about it”. Whether they can stop it is another thing.
We’re dealing with a very big machine.” Dennis’s agent told Guardian Australia he would not be commenting further. Former Neighbours cast member Matthew Werkmeister, who played Zeke Kinski from 2005 to 2011 and appeared alongside Robbie in a love-triangle storyline, told Guardian Australia he only learned about the deal when he was approached for comment. Guardian Australia understands that any residuals will be paid to writers and actors based on their agreements for the series, as per normal process.
In all honestly I can’t remember exactly every line point, but AI and streaming platforms, let alone vertical streaming platforms, didn’t exist and was not a consideration,” he said. Werkmeister dismissed claims that the vertical format would introduce the classic soap to younger audiences and called the venture a “money grab for Fremantle”. Mattie Webb, agent for actor Sam Clark – who played Donna’s partner, Ringo Brown – said Clark was waiting to hear from US actors’ union Sag-Aftra before commenting.
But Webb, an LA-based manager with 27 years’ experience, said AI was rapidly disrupting the entire industry. The microdrama market, which originated in China, was estimated to be worth up to $15bn (A$21.4bn) globally last year. Some verticals are entirely original and shot for the format, while others are cut from existing material; in 2023, Paramount Pictures released Mean Girls on TikTok as 23 episodes.
Others are entirely unofficial, with fans recutting their favourite shows into snippets for millions of viewers on social media. In this era, Neighbours is a goldmine, having broadcast more than 9,300 episodes between its launch in 1985 and end in 2025. The soap also served as a launchpad for several international stars, including Robbie, Guy Pearce, Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Dichen Lachman, Natalie Imbruglia, Liam Hemsworth and Jesse Spencer.
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