It’s really happening. Early 2000s It-Girl Mischa Barton really is going to be part of the Neighbours reboot and — not going to lie — the BTS photos make me feel several types of ways.
In the pictures, Mischa is shooting scenes for the soap linking arms with Australian actor Xavier Molyneux. Don’t know who that is? The 25-year-old was on Big Brother Australia 2020 and, according to what appears to be his IMDB, has been dipping his toes in acting gigs ever since.
Have a peek at the piccies on Daily Mail Australia HERE. Xavier has red hair in ’em!
The on-screen relationship looks pretty innocent between Xavier and Mischa — like they’re cousins or penpals finally meeting or some shit — but who knows what Neighbours has in store for Mischa’s storyline. Surely that’s why 87 per cent of the reboot audience will be tuning in — so one would hope it’s amazingly chaotic.
Mischa will be playing an American character named Reece, so don’t expect to hear her scream “NAURRR” in a really dramatic fire at Lassiters. Or, you know, something like that.
Maybe she’ll become one of Toadie’s inexplicably hot girlfriends?
@pedestriantv Welcome to Ramsay Street, b*tch. Catch the latest ep of The Show Off podcast with our mates @betootaadvocate on Spotify now (or watch on 9Now). #ptv #neighbours #mischabarton #theoc
Maybe she’ll hook up with dirty doc Karl Kennedy and give Susan another reason to slap the life out of him?
Or maybe she’s going to pull a Paul Robinson by committing arson and becoming a business magnate?
Either way, I can’t wait. But I’m hoping that Neighbours will pay homage to her Orange County roots somehow.
Fun fact: Xavier and Mischa follow each other on Instagram. Isn’t that sweet?
Neighbours’ executive producer, Jason Herbison, is absolutely stoked to have Mischa on board.
“With Neighbours launching on Amazon Freevee in North America, we are beyond excited to have an actor of Mischa’s calibre join us for the beginning of this exciting new chapter,” he said.
“Mischa’s character is dynamic and unpredictable, and will have an instant presence on Ramsay Street. Our loyal viewers are going to love her, locally and abroad.”
Apparently, Mischa is also keen and presumably said the following quote willingly.
“I’m excited to be part of this iconic show’s next chapter, and I am really looking forward to being back in Australia, a place I know and love! I think the character of Reece is going to be a great role for me to explore and play with.”
(Supplied: Amazon Prime)
In case you missed it, the iconic Aussie soap was meant to wrap after a whopping 37 years on the air.
Cast and crew who worked on the show over the years came together to create a beautiful and touching finale episode. It even featured the queen of Australia, Kylie Minogue, and was watched by millions of fans worldwide.
But just four months after the big hullabaloo of the show ending, it was picked up by Amazon‘s Freevee streaming service for a revival.
Although it made a bunch of old Aussie battlers and a bevvy of British people incredibly happy, a few of the returning stars on the show weren’t too happy about making the effort to appear in the final eps for it to come back just a few months later.
But now that they’ve secured that juicy Bezos funding, the new and improved era of Neighbours has officially begun with production kicking off this week at Melbourne’s Nadawading studios. The series is expected to launch later this year on Amazon Prime for Aussie viewers and Amazon Freevee for viewers in the UK and US.
But for now, if you want to prime yourself for some absolutely batshit soap opera behaviour including Mischa, you can watch over 200 episodes from 2012 and 2013 on Amazon Prime.
