After more than three decades on Australian screens, Home and Away is packing its bags and heading west for the first time.
Tonight, the long-running Seven drama will take viewers to Western Australia as part of a special storyline that also sees the return of fan favourites Brax (Stephen Peacocke) and Ricky (Bonnie Sveen) – a decade after their departure from Summer Bay.
The move comes as the series continues to post strong audience growth across both broadcast and streaming.
In 2025, Home and Away recorded an average total TV audience of 995,000, up 7% year-on-year across Seven and 7plus. Streaming in particular has surged, with 7plus viewing up 34% compared with 2024, making the drama the most-watched regular Australian series on the platform.
That momentum has carried into 2026. Between 19 January and 12 February 2026, the series delivered an average total TV audience of 1.09 million, up 8% on the same period in 2025, while viewing on 7plus jumped 69% year-on-year.
Special location episodes have also proven to be a ratings driver. The Queensland storyline, which aired in March 2025, averaged 1.03 million viewers across Seven and 7plus, up 8% on the then-year-to-date average, with its opening week becoming the highest-rated week of the year for the series.
For Seven’s Director of Content, Scripted, Julie McGauran, the WA episodes represent both a creative milestone and a continuation of a strategy that has already proven successful for the show.
“Our numbers are bigger this year, which is amazing. Like it just keeps on getting better,” she said.
Seven’s Director of Content, Scripted, Julie McGauran
Why Western Australia became the next chapter
The idea of filming outside Summer Bay was not entirely new to the production team. In 2025, a special storyline filmed in Queensland delivered some of the series’ strongest ratings of the year.
“We know that when we went to Queensland a year before last, it was so successful,” McGauran said.
“And it was like our highest ratings week, the Queensland week.”
That success sparked internal conversations about where the series might go next.
“We knew we’ve all been in love with W.A. for such a long time. So we all wanted to do that,” she said.
At the same time, the creative team had been discussing the possibility of bringing Brax and Ricky back to the show.
“We’d always talked about it, but we knew there had to be something really big and important to bring them back.”
The result was a storyline set in Western Australia, created in partnership with Tourism Western Australia.
“We also knew we needed to make this the biggest, most special thing we’ve done in such a long time. And W.A. is just a beautiful part of the country that we’ve never been to,” McGauran said.
The Western Australia storyline was made possible through a close partnership with Tourism Western Australia, which worked alongside the production team throughout the process.
According to McGauran, the collaboration extended well beyond simply providing locations, with Tourism WA involved in everything from logistics and location scouting to promotional activity around the episodes.
“We have worked incredibly closely with them – that means everything from logistics, to finding locations, to all the promotional work as well,” she said.
McGauran said the relationship proved to be a strong fit for both the production and the tourism body, helping bring the ambitious storyline to life on screen.
“We’ve had an amazing partnership, and I think it’s really beneficial for both of us. They were really, really great in bringing this to life.”
Brax (Stephen Peacocke) and Ricky (Bonnie Sveen). Source: Seven
Brax and Ricky return – a decade later
Within the storyline, Brax and Ricky are now living far from Summer Bay.
Brax is working on a remote cattle station in the WA outback, where he and Ricky have built a quiet life raising their son Casey (Austin Cutcliffe).
Their new life is disrupted when Tane Parata (Ethan Browne) arrives in Western Australia seeking Brax’s help after being framed for a crime he did not commit, triggering a nationwide manhunt storyline.
For the actors themselves, the opportunity to film in Western Australia was part of the appeal.
“We all love Bonnie and Steve, but we all love Brax and Ricky. So there’s a fine line between them both,” McGauran said.
“It’s been a decade since they’ve been with the show. So, we were all asking, where are these favourite characters now? What have they done in the last 10 years?
“And also talking about the characters living in WA, that was the icing on the cake for both Steve and Bonnie. They were like, we get to go to WA,” she said.
Filming took place across several Western Australian locations, including Elizabeth Quay in Perth, Bullara Station near Exmouth, and the Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area, with additional scenes shot in Coral Bay, Cape Range National Park and Charles Knife Canyon.
According to McGauran, the reception from locals was immediate.
“W.A. and the people over there were extraordinary,” she said.
According to McGauran, there was a strong sense of enthusiasm and pride from the moment the crew arrived, with many locals excited to see the Summer Bay crew bring their cameras to the state.
“There was just so much love, commitment, and excitement. Every person we came across was so excited to have Home and Away come to W.A.”
The production also incorporated local talent into the episodes, with Western Australians appearing as extras throughout the shoot.
“We obviously used local extras, so we got to bring in the locals, and they just loved it,” she said.
A show that continues to evolve
For McGauran, the growth in streaming has not changed how the show is made.
“I mean, you can even look at the numbers, though. It’s interesting how people are watching,” she said.
“I mean, 7Plus is up, I think it’s nearly 70% from the same time this time last year. So people find their way to watch the show, and it’s extraordinary numbers.”
Despite the shift in viewing habits, she said the storytelling remains consistent.
“We craft the show in the same way because it still has the same story beats within it,” she said.
“But it’s got to be able to work on each of those devices because we know people watch the show differently. For example, I’m on my phone now, not a computer.”
Why Summer Bay still resonates
For McGauran, the enduring popularity of Home and Away lies in its ability to balance stories that reflect everyday life with the emotional escape audiences still seek at the end of the day.
“I think because we listen to, you know, we have to replicate society and stories that are important to people,” she said.
At the same time, she believes the show continues to resonate because it offers a sense of comfort and familiarity in an often unpredictable world.
“I think in this day and age, the world can be sometimes a harsh place,” she said.
“Home and Away at seven o’clock is such a wonderful, perfect place to escape.”
McGauran also credits the show’s writers’ room and long-standing production team for helping keep the storytelling fresh after more than three decades on air.
“I think to be a writer on television, you have to give some of yourself,” she said, explaining that the team works hard to create a space where personal ideas and experiences can be brought into the creative process.
“So I believe that being in a room, the writers’ room, you have to feel that it’s a safe place where you can actually bring up things that mean something to you.”
If those stories resonate internally, she said, they are more likely to resonate with audiences as well.
“That’s what I love about this show, we cover all different types of genres in one show,” she said.
“There’s rom-coms, there’s adventure, there’s medical, there’s police, there’s emotion, there’s families, there’s relationships. There’s no other show in Australia that can cover the amount of stories that we can.”
Brax (Stephen Peacocke).
A training ground for Australian talent
Over the years, Home and Away has also built a reputation as one of Australia’s most successful talent pipelines, launching the careers of countless actors and creatives.
“We’re incredibly privileged to work with everyone,” McGauran said.
“A lot of people have gone on the record to say that this was the training ground that made them realise this industry is all about collaborative work.”
For McGauran personally, the Western Australian shoot now stands out as one of the show’s most memorable production experiences.
“It was the most extraordinary filming we’ve done,” she said.
“It was the best trip ever. I can hand on heart say I loved it more than lots of things for years and years.”
The Home and Away Western Australia episodes begin 7.00pm tonight on Seven and 7plus.