Former Neighbours cast object to AI-assisted vertical recut
Actors including Stefan Dennis and Matthew Werkmeister have criticised the project. Fremantle says only previously aired footage is used and an editor approves each step.
What this basis means: Reported by a named news outlet, and traceable to neither a filing, a research vendor, nor the company itself.
Former cast members of the Australian soap Neighbours have criticised a plan to recut old episodes into vertical microdramas with AI tools, MikroDrama.de reported on 27 October 2026.
The project, announced in September, has Fremantle's catalogue reformatted by RoseBerry Media for its Epis app. Stefan Dennis, who played Paul Robinson, called it "incredibly invasive, morally and legally wrong" ("unglaublich invasiv, moralisch und rechtlich falsch"). Matthew Werkmeister said he learned of the deal from a press inquiry and that his original contracts were signed at age 13. The agent of Sam Clark said his client was waiting for SAG-AFTRA to act.
The performers' union MEAA is calling for legislation on fair pay for creatives, and the Australian Writers' Guild is negotiating with Fremantle, according to the report.
Fremantle has said only already-aired footage is used, with no new scenes, altered faces or synthetic voices, and that a human editor approves every step. Whether the cast's 2000s-era contracts cover vertical reuse was described as unclear.
Companies Fremantle, RoseBerry Media
Sources
This Week in Vertical
A free weekly email of every report published here that week, each with its basis and sources. No advertising. Past issues