Overview
Home and Away is set in the fictional town of Summer Bay, a coastal town in New South Wales, and follows the personal and professional lives of the people living in the area. The show initially focused on the Fletcher family, Pippa and Tom Fletcher and their five foster children Frank Morgan, Carly Morris, Steven Matheson, Lynn Davenport and Sally Keating, who would go on to become one of the show's longest-running characters. The show also originally and currently focuses on the Stewart family. Home and Away had proved popular when it premiered in 1988 and had risen to become a hit in Australia, and after only a few weeks, the show tackled its first major and disturbing storyline, the rape of Carly Morris; it was one of the first shows to feature such storylines during the early timeslot. H&A has tackled many adult-themed and controversial storylines; something rarely found in its restricted timeslot.
Since 1988, Home and Away has served as a fixture of Australian television. By centering its narrative on the residents of Summer Bay, the series maintains a focus on the dynamics within local families, specifically the long-standing Stewart clan. The setting provides a backdrop for a cycle of personal crises and professional shifts that define life in a small New South Wales coastal town.
The show stands apart for its willingness to address mature, complex subjects within an early evening time slot. While many soaps of the era relied on lighter domestic tropes, this series made headlines by tackling heavy topics like the assault of the character Carly Morris shortly after its debut. Ray Meagher remains a constant presence, anchoring a production that has spent decades balancing standard drama with narratives that often push against the boundaries of daytime broadcast expectations.
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Details
- First Aired
- January 18, 1988
- Status
- Returning Series
- Episode Runtime
- 22 minutes
- Origin
- AU
- TMDB Votes
- 76