Entertainment
The Best Australian Soap Operas
List Rules
Vote up the best soaps from Australia
Heightened drama and ridiculously long feuds keep viewers coming back for more in the best Australian soap operas. The top Australian soap opera shows tell ongoing stories about characters who would do anything for each other - and others who would betray their own families to get ahead. This is a list of the best Australian soap operas, including everything from Home and Away to Sons and Daughters.
What series will you find on this list of Australian soap operas? Neighbours first broadcast on Seven Network 1985 before being scooped up by Ten a year later, who then turned it into one of the longest-running Australian soaps. Focusing on stories about the struggles and triumphs of families in the fictional suburb of Erinsborough, actors on Neighbours have included Kylie Minogue and Margo Robbie.
On a list of all Australian soap operas, there are also shows that weren't favorites. Punishment only lasted three episodes but was full of stars like Mel Gibson and Cornelia Frances. But how many episodes a soap ran doesn't necessarily make it the best. Paradise Beach only had two seasons but was able to gain an audience in the United States.
Do you have a favorite Aussie soap? Vote up the best and add any we may have missed.
Ranked by
- 1
Kerry Armstrong, Betty Bobbitt, Wendy Playfair- Premiered: February 27, 1979
Prisoner is an Australian soap opera, set in the Wentworth Detention Centre, a fictional women's prison. In the United States and United Kingdom it was billed as Prisoner: Cell Block H, and in Canada ...more - 2Kylie Minogue, Russell Crowe, Margot Robbie
- Premiered: March 18, 1985
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera. It was first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that ...more - 3Sam Neill, Gary Sweet, Damon Herriman
- Premiered: November 15, 1976
The Sullivans is an Australian drama television series produced by Crawford Productions which ran on the Nine Network on 15 November 1976 until 10 March 1983. The series told the story of an average ...more - 4Nicole Kidman, Ryan Kwanten, David Wenham
- Premiered: 1981
A Country Practice was an Australian television drama series. It ran on the Seven Network for 1,058 episodes at 7.30 pm Monday and Tuesday nights, from 18 November 1981 to 22 November 1993. It was ...more - 5Judy Nunn, Danny Roberts, Peter Phelps
- Premiered: 1982
Sons and Daughters is a Logie Award winning Australian soap opera created by Reg Watson and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation between 1981 and 1987. The first episode aired on Monday, 18Â ...more - 6Wendy Hughes, Chris Haywood, Wendy Playfair
- Premiered: 1983
Return to Eden is an Australian television drama series starring Rebecca Gilling, James Reyne, Wendy Hughes and James Smillie. It began as a three-part mini-series, shown on Network Ten in 1983. ...more - 7Isla Fisher, Chris Hemsworth, Heath Ledger
- Premiered: 1988
Home and Away is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and has been produced in Sydney, New South Wales since July 1987. It commenced broadcast on the Seven Network from ...more - 8Russell Crowe, Alan Dale, Mark Holden
- Premiered: 1976
The Young Doctors was an Australian early evening soap opera. The series was set in the fictional Albert Memorial hospital and primarily concerned with romances between younger members of the ...more - 9Wendy Hughes, Jon English, Briony Behets
- Premiered: 1972
Number 96 was a popular Australian soap opera set in a Sydney apartment block. Don Cash and Bill Harmon of the Cash Harmon Television production company, produced the series for The 0-10 Network, ...more - 10Simon Baker, Melissa Tkautz, Rebecca Rigg
- Premiered: 1989
E Street was an Australian television soap opera created by Forrest Redlich and produced by Network Ten from 24 January 1989 to 13 May 1993. Whereas Neighbours is set in a middle-class suburb, Home ...more - 11Lynda Stoner, Rowena Wallace, Peter Adams
- Premiered: 1977
Cop Shop is a long running Australian police drama television series produced by Crawford Productions that ran for eight seasons between November 1977 and July 1984. It comprised 582 one hour ...more - 12Zoe Carides, Diane Craig, Clayton Watson
- Premiered: 2008
Out of the Blue is an Australian serial drama commissioned by the BBC, produced by Australia's Southern Star Entertainment. It began screening on BBC One on weekday afternoons on 28 April 2008. The ...more - 13Bud Tingwell, Frank Rich, Christine Amor
- Premiered: 1967
Bellbird was an Australian soap opera set in a small Victorian rural township. The series was produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation at its Ripponlea TV studios in Elsternwick, ...more - 14Judy Nunn, Briony Behets, George Mallaby
- Premiered: 1974
The Box was an Australian soap opera that ran on ATV-0 from 11 February 1974 until 11 October 1977 and on The 0-10 Network affiliates around Australia. The Box was produced by Crawford Productions ...more - 15Eric Bana, Emily Browning, Grant Bowler
- Premiered: 2000
Something in the Air was an Australian television soap opera transmitted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation between 2000 and 2002. It was one of the first programs in Australia that was ...more - 16Leonard Teale
- Premiered: 1974
Class of '74 was a secondary school-based, daily soap opera produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation and screened on the Seven Network in Australia starting March 1974. The main characters were a mix ...more - 17Julian McMahon, Ian Rawlings, George Mallaby
- Premiered: 1989
The Power, The Passion is an Australian television daytime soap opera produced by the Seven Network in 1989. The series was devised to lure audiences away from American imports such as The Bold and ...more - 18
Until Tomorrow
Barry Otto, Hazel Phillips, Babette Stephens - 19Dannii Minogue, Jason Donovan, Gerard Kennedy
- Premiered: 1979
Skyways is an Australian television series made by Crawford Productions for the Seven Network. The series, which aired from 1979 to 1981, was set at the fictional Pacific International Airport and ...more - 20Isla Fisher, Melissa Tkautz, Manu Bennett
- Premiered: 1993
Paradise Beach is an Australian television series made by Village Roadshow Pictures. It is associated with New World Television for the Nine Network that aired between 1993 and 1994. The series is ...more - 21Jonathan Hardy, Diane Craig, Justine Clarke
- Premiered: 1990
Family and Friends was a short-lived Australian television soap opera debuted on 7 February 1990. The series was intended to be the Nine Network's response to the already successful soaps on the ...more - 22Emily Symons, Maggie Kirkpatrick, Paula Duncan
- Premiered: 1988
Richmond Hill was an Australian television soap opera made in 1988 by the Reg Grundy Organisation for the Ten Network. It was devised by Reg Watson who also created Neighbours. It debuted 27 January ...more - 23Damon Herriman, Diane Craig, Annette Andre
- Premiered: 1982
Taurus Rising is an Australian soap opera produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation and Dixie Normus for the Nine Network in 1982. Originally intended by the network to be a replacement for The ...more - 24Bill Kerr, Ken James, Rebecca Gilling
- Premiered: 1977
Glenview High is an Australian television drama series produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation for the Seven Network between 1977 and 1978. - 25Mel Gibson, Kris McQuade, Brian Wenzel
- Premiered: 1981
Punishment is an Australian television soap opera made by the Reg Grundy Organisation for the Ten Network in 1981. Set in a fictional men's prison, the series attempted to present a male version of ...more
