Neighbours’ vertical remake puts old contracts to a new test

The rights question behind the format

Dennis called the project deeply invasive and wrong on moral and legal grounds in comments to the Herald Sun. He said actors may be unable to stop it, and has involved his agent. Dennis also expects other Neighbours cast members, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) and the Australian Writers’ Guild to respond. His agent later told Guardian Australia that Dennis would not comment further.

Source: theguardian.com

Werkmeister, who played Zeke Kinski from 2005 to 2011 alongside Margot Robbie in a love-triangle storyline, said he learned of the deal when Guardian Australia asked him about it. His concern, he said, was not that someone might make money, but that his image could be used with AI on a platform without his consent.

He said neither Fremantle, the show’s producer, nor RoseBerry Media had told him whether actors would receive royalties. Guardian Australia reported that writers and actors are due royalties under their existing series contracts, through the usual process.

Werkmeister signed his first contracts at 13. He does not remember every clause, but said those agreements predated AI, streaming platforms and vertical video.

The companies’ account of the process is narrower than the dispute it has prompted. Fremantle told Guardian Australia it would use only footage, dialogue and performances that had already been broadcast. A company representative said RedSnapper does not create new scenes or performances, alter actors’ faces or appearances, or use synthetic voices. Editors reviewed and approved the archive analysis, editing and conversion of footage to a vertical format. RoseBerry said it agreed with Fremantle and had nothing to add.

An archive made for reuse

Vertical dramas usually run for about a minute per episode and are designed for phone viewing. The format grew out of China, and the global microdrama market was estimated at $15 billion last year, equivalent to A$21.4 billion.

Some vertical series are shot for the format; others are assembled from existing material. In 2023, Paramount Pictures released Mean Girls on TikTok in 23 episodes. Fans also cut shows into short clips that attract millions of views on social media.

Neighbours offers a particularly large archive to repackage: more than 9,300 episodes, from its 1985 launch to its end in 2025. The show also helped launch the careers of internationally known actors including Robbie, Guy Pearce, Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Dichen Lachman, Natalie Imbruglia, Liam Hemsworth and Jesse Spencer.

Last month, Fremantle’s chief commercial and international officer Jens Richter described the project to Variety as an example of how technology and creativity can find new value in the company’s catalogue and content archive.

Werkmeister rejects the idea that the vertical version will introduce younger viewers to the original series. He called it an attempt by Fremantle to make a quick return by selling existing archive material, and said he would want to know whether the project’s organisers had approached Robbie. Guardian Australia requested comment from her.

A precedent beyond Ramsay Street

MEAA said it is supporting Neighbours participants and their representatives. Acting chief executive Adam Portelli said anyone who worked on the show could contact the union, and called for their work not to be used without their knowledge and consent or without fair payment. He urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Parliament to legislate for direct, fair compensation when creative work is used with AI.

The Australian Writers’ Guild said it was in talks with Fremantle and hoped to reach a fair outcome soon. Sam Clark, who played Ringo Brown, is waiting for a response from the US actors’ union Sag-Aftra before commenting, his agent Matt Webb said. Webb, a Los Angeles manager with 27 years’ experience, said AI was changing the industry quickly and that he had spent the week dealing with deepfakes and AI.

I think the central uncertainty is not whether RedSnapper makes new performances; Fremantle says it does not. It is whether existing contracts give performers meaningful control over new formats and new commercial uses of old work. Werkmeister’s warning is that the consequences could extend beyond Ramsay Street. If the archive can be repackaged without fresh consultation, the unresolved question is how much consent an old contract can carry into a new market.