The annual ‘Upfronts’ event hosted by Seven has given us our first glimpses of what to expect from Home and Away in 2022. Continue reading for big spoilers about what’s to come in Summer Bay.
The network’s annual Upfronts event, which is once again being hosted virtually due to the ongoing epidemic, is the network’s opportunity to show off its shows to advertisers and investors.
It utilizes the event to promote big new series and demonstrate what’s coming up on the network’s existing shows in order to get advertisers and sponsors to spend money with the network.
This year was no exception, and we received lots of glimpses into what’s coming up in the following year, as Seven brings back Australian Idol, My Kitchen Rules, and The Voice, its runaway success of 2020. However, there were some huge surprises in store, as it teased some key Home and Away stories.
The night is typically a star-studded event hosted at Seven’s offices in Media City, Eveleigh, but it was replaced for the second year in a row with a virtual event including presenters and cast from across the network’s programmes, as well as presentations from the network’s management team.
In regards to Home and Away, the network issued the following statement in a press release:
“Australia’s #1 drama will return in 2022 for its extraordinary 35th season, fresh off attracting its largest audiences in more than two years – and being rewarded with its own currency, no less.”
With 45 episodes of all the drama, joy, romance, action, heartache, and surprises that viewers have come to anticipate from our most successful drama series, it will be larger and brighter than ever before.
In Summer Bay, there is never a boring moment. “It’s a Seven Production,” said the cast of Home and Away.
Sophie Dillman and Patrick O’Connor gave us a unique sneak peek throughout the hour-long session.
The real-life couple, who play Ziggy Astoni and Dean Thompson on the show, discussed some of the show’s highlights from the previous year. They emphasized how it has grown in popularity across all demographics, averaging over 1 million daily viewers across Australia, and becoming the most-watched show on 7Plus on a regular basis.
After that, it was time for a sneak peek, which is when things started to get interesting.
There were plenty of clips of brand new material interspersed among footage of some of the show’s biggest moments from the past 12 months – the car crash, the surf competition, Nikau’s disastrous modeling career, and the attack at Martha’s exhibition – and it’s fair to say we’ve got some dramatic months ahead.
Felicity has been kidnapped
Felicity (Jacqui Purvis) has only been at Summer Bay for five minutes, but we’re sure she’s already second-guessing her decision.
On a night out, she immediately drew Tane’s (Ethan Browne) attention, and the two ended up back at her apartment, where they began a torrid fling that saw them rush into bed together at every chance.
That is until Tane realized Felicity was forming feelings and decided to put an end to it. Soon later, he began receiving single red flowers on his porch and then affixed to his car, and he immediately suspected Felicity. Things heated up, and he accused her of following him, prompting her to file an AVO (Apprehended Violence Order) against him.
Tane passed unconsciously after being poisoned in the gym by both a sedative and a poisonous gas in recent Australian episodes. While the majority of the community accused Felicity right away, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that she’s innocent of both the stalking and the terrible attack.
Now it appears that she is going to be the target of an attack of her own.
The Upfronts promo’s first fresh images are massive! Felicity is shown bound to a chair by her wrists in the center of a dark and filthy building with shredded window coverings and what seems to be rope piling up in the corner.
She squirms around in her chair, swaying back and forth, before bolting upright when she hears a sound off-screen.
Felicity appears to have moved from her chair in the following picture, but her attempt to flee appears to have failed horribly. She looks to be bound to one of the wooden support pillars again, this time around her midsection.
Is it possible that the individual who targeted Tane is the same person? Maybe Felicity figured out who they were, prompting them to make her their next target?
The battle between Ryder and Theo continues
We see Ryder (Lukas Radovich) and Theo beneath the caption ‘There’s a reason our audience is rising’ (Matt Evans).
Ryder and Chloe are presently the furthest things from friends, with newbie Theo continuously enraging Ryder while simultaneously attempting to gain Chloe’s attention (Sam Barrett).
Nonetheless, it appears that they’ll be collaborating at a Caravan Park event. Is this just another instance of their feud?
The image appears to depict burning charcoal on the caravan park’s ground, with a crowd of teenagers and travelers gathered to watch.
Is it possible that the two are ready to walk across the hot coals to display their manliness, maybe in another attempt to impress Chloe?
The kiss between Theo and Chloe
Theo has effectively driven a wedge between established pair Chloe and Ryder in recent Australian episodes.
Since he came, he’s made every attempt to flirt with Chloe, and it’s driving Ryder insane. Then, as Chloe was planning a surprise 21st birthday celebration for Ryder, Summer Bay’s newest arrival abducted the birthday boy and loaded him into the back of his car to drive him to the club’s celebrations.
Ryder didn’t seem to like his journey in the boot, and the night turned out to be a catastrophe. After taking offense to Ryder’s insinuation that anything may have transpired between her and Theo, Chloe admitted to Ryder that things weren’t working out between them in the most recent episode.
The new trailer, however, makes it obvious that her feelings for Theo are about to shift. We see the duo lock lips in a split-second shot, implying that the trio’s relationship turmoil is just getting started.
Tane’s post-recovery difficulties
Tane appears to be straining to breathe as he pulls down his black sweatshirt to show a square piece of bandage on his neck in another sequence of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it images.
After the latest gas assault at Salt, he had to have an emergency tracheotomy, and it appears that he will need some time to recover.
It’s unclear whether his problems are a result of the attack or if he’ll have to deal with additional turmoil in the future. As uncle and nephew embrace, it appears that he has Nikau (Kawakawa Fox-Reo) on his side.
Ryder is buried alive
In a small hole in the earth, a rectangular wooden box is put. I mean, that could be used in a variety of ways, right? It won’t necessarily be anything nefarious…
But this is Summer Bay, and it appears that poor Ryder will soon be residing in the box.
As if he hadn’t been through enough in the previous 12 months!
He was abducted by Paul and Leon earlier this year, along with Bella (Courtney Miller), Nikau, and Chloe, as the gang members sought vengeance on Ari and Tane. They wrapped the teenagers in blankets as they awaited a bus to Yabbie Creek, then drove them to an unknown location where they were forced to spend the night in a freezing shipping container.
Then, as previously said, he was kidnapped a second time when Theo seized him and shoved him into the boot of his car. Even though the trip was shorter this time – simply to the local club for his 21st birthday celebrations – Ryder was still traumatized.
Now it appears like he’ll have to endure yet another terrible night. With a frightened expression on his face and the soil on his t-shirt, he reaches up and touches the top of the wooden box in the trailer. His abductor has left him with a torch, which is unlikely to provide much comfort to the scared boy.
Who is it this time who has it in for Ryder?
What has Chloe accomplished?
We don’t know if the next scenario is linked, but it appears to be as tragic.
Chloe comes from the side of the Parata home, a big rock clutched in her left hand. She drops the rock and collapses on the ground as she crawls towards Mia (Anna Samson).
Could she have just returned after facing Ryder’s assailant(s)?
Could she have been Ryder’s assailant?
In the following months, we’ll find out!
Is Ari going to propose?
Ari and Mia have been working on the project for a while now.
It hasn’t been long since the lovers reunited after a decade apart, but they’ve already experienced grief when Mia miscarried as a consequence of the spectacular automobile accident in which she, Dean, and Nikau were all hospitalized.
After Mia realized she couldn’t handle having another kid, they began the adoption process. Because of Ari’s criminal past, Australian viewers have just had their first application refused, leaving them fearful that they will never be able to raise a child together.
Could happiness, in the shape of a marriage proposal, be on the horizon for them?
Ari appears pensive in the trailer, staring down at a stunning diamond engagement ring.
Will we be able to attend another Summer Bay wedding in 2022?
Tane and Felicity reconcile
Anyone following Tane’s current stalker drama wouldn’t have predicted this, but Tane and Felicity appear to be getting back together.
The commercial depicts the couple looking loved up as they kiss on the beach, which is our greatest hint yet that Flick isn’t Tane’s stalker.
Tane appears to be ready to move on from Ziggy, but we expect a groveling apology when he realizes it wasn’t Felicity who was giving him red roses and chasing him all over town.
A tiny split-second clip shows lovebirds Mackenzie (Emily Weir) and Logan (Harley Bonner) passionately kissing, implying that their whirlwind relationship will continue into the new year.
A high-speed chase?
Finally, it appears that Summer Bay’s finest will be kept on their toes in the coming months like a black covert car and a white marked police car race across the countryside.
Who exactly are they looking for?
That’s all there is to it. As the programme nears its 2021 season finale and returns from its usual summer break in early 2022, it appears like we’ll have much to look forward to.