Home and Away

Home and Away is an Australian television soap opera devised by Alan Bateman. It has been produced in Sydney since July 1987 and has aired on the Seven Network since 17 January 1988. It is the second-longest-running drama and most popular soap opera on Australian television. It originally screened as a 93-minute pilot episode, or a television film as it is known, and a day later aired at its usual time of 22 minutes. At the beginning, the show was screened on Seven at 6:30 pm and currently airs at 7:00 pm, five days a week.

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 (Vanessa Downing) (later played by Debra Lawrance) and Tom Fletcher (Roger Oakley) and their five foster children Frank Morgan (Alex Papps), Carly Morris (Sharyn Hodgson), Steven Matheson (Adam Willits), Lynn Davenport (Helena Bozich) and most notably Sally Fletcher (Kate Ritchie). The show also originally and currently focuses on the Stewart family. During the early 2000s, the central storylines focused on the Sutherlands and later, the Hunters. Home and Away had proved popular when it premiered in 1988 and had risen to become a hit in Australia, and only after 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, breaking the rules of its restricted timeslot.

H&A has seen much success in several countries. It is popular in Ireland, being one of RTÉ's most popular drama series since the broadcaster began airing the show just several months after its premiere in Australia. The show remains successful in New Zealand and France, where it is titled as Summer Bay.

Home and Away has earned many Logie Awards, more than 30 for Most Popular Australian Drama. The cast has earned several awards including Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television, Silver Logie Award for Most Popular Actor, and Most Popular Actress.