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Long-running Australian soap opera “Neighbours” is being recut into short-form vertical video by RoseBerry Media for its Epis (stylized as “epis”) platform — and it’s starting with episodes starring Margot Robbie.
Robbie
starred as Donna Freedman on the series from 2008 to 2011 before becoming a globally recognized film star. For Epis’ microdrama launch of “Neighbours,” two storylines featuring Robbie as Donna will be edited down into vertical micro-episodes that will add up to around 150 minutes of content.
The transformation of the “Neighbours” series into short-form episodes will be done via RedSnapper, RoseBerry’s proprietary production workflow that utilizes AI to turn TV and film libraries into vertical series.
RoseBerry was set to announce the vertical series edits of “Neighbours” on Monday along with series producer Fremantle. In the case of “Neighbours,” RoseBerry will have plenty of material to work with: The Australian soap, which premiered in 1985 and ended in 2025, ultimately ran for around 9,363 episodes. Besides Robbie, well-known alums of the show include Guy Pearce, Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Jesse Spencer.
“’Neighbours’ is an iconic piece of television history and exactly the kind of premium entertainment IP we believe can thrive in the vertical format,” Guy Hameiri, co-founder and CEO of RoseBerry Media, said in a statement. “This is the first time we’ve had the opportunity to apply RedSnapper to a long-running soap with such a rich library of characters, storylines and cultural moments, and Fremantle has been a fantastic partner in helping bring that vision to life.”
Added Fremantle commercial and international CEO Jens Richter, also in a statement: “’Neighbours’ has an extraordinary legacy, with decades of memorable characters, stories and talent. Working with RoseBerry allows us to explore incredible archive in an entirely new way, bringing much-loved IP to new audiences while demonstrating how established television libraries can continue to evolve, find new relevance and importantly create new commercial opportunities. It’s an exciting example of how technology and creative thinking can unlock new value from our diverse catalog and content library.”
RoseBerry has deals with Banijay Rights, All3Media International, A+E Global Media and Cineflix Rights, along with Fremantle, to explore ways to adapt their IP for mobile and other technology. Hameiri said the “Neighbours” deal is just the beginning of finding ways to reimagine existing programming for different distribution.
“For RoseBerry, this is a powerful proof point for the infrastructure we are building to support the future of premium vertical television,” Hameiri said. “We believe premium vertical television will become a significant new entertainment category, and partnerships like this demonstrate how iconic IP can find new audiences, new relevance and new value in that future ecosystem.”
While much of the focus on the growing vertical video/microseries category has focused on the creation of original, low-budget content, there also has been a marketplace for pre-existing fare that is edited down into micro-sized bites. Other companies in the space include Snips, which has a deal with Banijay Rights and BIG Media to adapt some of their series and movies into minute-long episodes.
Here’s a look at how “Neighbours” with Margot Robbie has been recut for vertical:
And here’s a first look at the key art for the arrival of “Neighbours” on Epis:
