After nearly four decades on our screens, Home & Away has gone through phases of massive popularity as well as quiet lulls, but right now, it’s riding a wave that few long-running shows ever manage. With the return of fan favourites Brax (Stephen Peacocke) and Ricky (Bonnie Sveen), audiences have been tuning in in droves; with the episode on April 23 pulling in more than 1.16 million viewers.
But the continued success of Home & Away isn’t just about dramatic storylines or familiar faces, it’s about something deeper, and the show just nailed it with inviting Brax and Ricky back.
Ray Meagher, who plays beloved and longstanding character Alf Stewart, told WHO he was delighted to have the pair on set once again and called the move a “masterstroke”.
Home and Away is giving us the one thing we’re desperate for
After last week’s huge ratings, Ray weighed in on why the soap opera continues to endure, especially now.
“The world’s not a very pretty place at the moment, and a bit of nostalgia never hurt anybody,” Ray told WHO, pointing to the growing appetite for feel-good, familiar TV.
“It’s a safe-haven for people to go and relax, sit in their lounge room and watch a non-threatening show and just enjoy themselves for a change, rather than worrying about who’s going to pull the trigger next on the world stage.
“Bringing Steve and Bonnie back was a masterstroke.”
It’s a sentiment that feels especially relevant right now with all of the political unrest in the world.
Having Brax and Ricky return to show brought viewers back to a different time.
These characters, which haven’t been on the show for almost a decade, gave viewers a huge dose of nostalgia and made many reminisce about the time when they were last on the show.
And, ultimately, it makes people feel safe.
The undeniable power of nostalgia
It’s not just Home & Away benefitting from this shift in content that viewers are craving, but other shows too.
Take Miley Cyrus as an example, who recently sparked a global wave of nostalgia with Hannah Montana’s “Hannah-versary” 20th anniversary special, which premiered on March 24 and pulled in 6.3 million viewers across Disney+ and Hulu in just just three days.
Nostalgia isn’t just about entertainment, it’s charged fully in emotion and attaches people to a community and identity.
Right now, people need the comfort of community.
We need something familiar in an increasingly scary world.
Milly Rose Bannister, founder & CEO of the youth-led Australian mental health charity ALLKND, spoke to WHO about the power of nostalgia, explaining it “shows up in moments where things feel uncertain or overwhelming or stretched.”
You’d struggle to find a person who isn’t overwhelmed at the moment, and these nostalgic reboots bring a familiar coomfort.
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