Family and Friends

Family and Friends is a short-lived Australian television soap opera by the Nine Network which debuted on 7 February 1990 and aired for a single season until 27 December.^[1]

The series was intended to be the networks response to the already successful soaps on the rival channels - Neighbours and E Street on Network Ten and Home and Away on the Seven Network.

Family and Friends was set in a suburban community the series and focused on two families - the Chandler and the Italian-Australian Rossi families - who were linked by a long-standing vendetta stemming from an accidental death in the 1950s. Old enmities were renewed by the Romeo and Juliet style romance between Jennifer Chandler (Roxane Wilson) and Robert Rossi (Renato Bartolomei).

Despite the strong cast of which included actors known for previous soap roles including: Anne Phelan (Prisoner as Myra Desmond^[2]) and Maxine Klibingaitis (from Prisoner and Neighbours)^[3]), Justine Clarke (Home and Away) and Abigail and Alyce Platt (both from Sons and Daughters), the series failed to catch on with the viewers. Episodes were initially broadcast in one-hour installments up against Ten's E Street on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 19:30–20:30, but ratings were disastrous. The show was promptly reformatted as half-hour episodes stripped at 17:30 weeknights, but ratings remained very low. And now that it was lead-in to National Nine News's 6pm bulletin its low ratings meant it remained in a precarious position.

The series then underwent a major revamp which included the loss of six cast members and addition of new cast members including Rebecca Rigg. A week's worth of episodes were produced in the new format, when the series was abruptly cancelled on 26 April 1990. The final episodes went to air in a late-night timeslot during the 1990-1991 summer non-ratings period. In total 96 episodes had been produced.^[4]

• Family and Friends at IMDb