The show premiered in what Bateman classified as a ninety-minute telefeature[1] (subsequently in re-runs and on VHS titled as Home and Away: The Movie), as opposed to a pilot.

The series initially focused on the Fletcher family – Tom (Roger Oakley) and Pippa (Vanessa Downing), and their five foster children, Frank Morgan (Alex Papps), Carly Morris (Sharyn Hodgson), Lynn Davenport (Helena Bozich), Steven Matheson (Adam Willits) and Sally Fletcher (Kate Ritchie) – who moved from the city into the Summer Bay House, where they assumed the new job of running the caravan park, and eventually took in a sixth foster child, Bobby Simpson (Nicolle Dickson).

[3] While on a trip to Kangaroo Point, New South Wales with his family, Bateman began talking to locals who were "up in arms" over the construction of a foster home for children from the city.

[5][6] In 2002, several former characters such as Frank Morgan (Alex Papps), Carly Morris (Sharyn Hodgson), Steven Matheson (Adam Willits), Blake Dean (Les Hill) and Sophie Simpson (Rebekah Elmaloglou) returned for a special storyline to mark the 150th anniversary of settlement in Summer Bay.

[9] In July 2005, Home and Away celebrated its 4000th episode, which saw many former cast members return for Alf Stewart's (Ray Meagher) surprise 60th birthday party.

[5] The mayor of Sydney's Pittwater Council presented cast members with the key to Palm Beach, the exteriors setting filming location for the show.

[17][18] For the first time in the show's history, Home and Away aired a two-hander episode, featuring only the characters Ricky Sharpe (Bonnie Sveen) and Darryl "Brax" Braxton (Steve Peacocke), on 14 February 2016.

[23][30][31] A replica of the Summer Bay House was rebuilt in its original location at the Kenthurst estate several years later, with the exception of a grey roof instead of a red one.

[37] In November 2014, the show filmed an episode at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra with several cast members, as a tribute to the Anzac Centenary.

The episode centred around Alf Stewart (Ray Meagher), "who becomes upset with the younger generation's perceived lack of respect for Anzac Day, and joins the school trip to Canberra to visit the War Memorial.

[52] After Cannan's version received many complaints from fans, the Seven Network decided to re-record the theme song in April 2007 with vocals provided by Luke Dolahenty.

[64] When Home and Away began in January 1988, it initially focused on the "Fletcher" family – Tom (Roger Oakley) and his wife Pippa (Vanessa Downing), and their five foster children, Frank Morgan (Alex Papps), Carly Morris (Sharyn Hodgson), Steven Matheson (Adam Willits), Lynn Davenport (Helena Bozich), and Sally Fletcher (Kate Ritchie) – who relocated from the city to live in the seaside town of Summer Bay.

[66] While Home and Away features a mix of young cast members and older, more experienced actors, the show has always had a definite youth focus, with the younger characters dominating much of the storylines.

[67][68] Both Coburn and Ritchie along with Ray Meagher (Alf Stewart) entered the 2002 Guinness World Records as the longest-serving actors in an Australian drama series.

[72] Meagher along with Lynne McGranger (Irene Roberts), Ada Nicodemou (Leah Patterson-Baker) and Emily Symons (Marilyn Chambers) are the longest-serving cast members currently in Home and Away.

[73][74] In 2010, Georgie Parker joined the cast of Home and Away as Alf's daughter Roo Stewart, originally played by Justine Clarke in 1988–89.

[75] Throughout the years, Home and Away has featured several guest appearances from celebrities such as John Farnham,[76] Johanna Griggs,[76] Sia,[76] Michael Palin,[76] Ian Thorpe,[65] Lleyton Hewitt,[77] Paulini,[78] Nick Grimshaw,[79] Eliza Doolittle,[80] Ed Sheeran,[81] Jessica Mauboy,[82] Atomic Kitten,[83] and Sunrise presenters Matt Shirvington and Natalie Barr.

[87] Between 2000 and 2021, Home and Away ceased broadcast mid-season for two weeks during the Summer Olympic Games and the episode to screen prior to this is referred to as an 'Olympic cliffhanger'.

[92] In addition to this, Home and Away took a transmission break in 2018 and 2022 in order to broadcast the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games, held on the Gold Coast and in Birmingham respectively.

Although it was initially stated that the show would continue filming, the decision was later made to halt production, despite neither the cast nor crew testing positive for the virus.

Storylines covered include abortion,[127] accidental death,[127] adultery,[128] adoption, alcoholism,[129] amnesia, amputation,[130] arson, autism, bereavement, brain aneurysm, bullying,[127] cancer, cage fighting,[131] career problems,[132] child abuse,[133] cults,[134] cyberbullying, domestic violence,[127] depression, drink driving, drug overdose, drug trafficking and drug use,[127] eating disorders, gambling addiction,[135] health problems,[136][137] hit-and-runs,[138] HIV and AIDS,[139][140] homosexuality,[141] Huntington's disease, incest,[127] imprisonment,[142] kidnapping,[127] marriage problems,[143] miscarriage,[144] murder,[127] obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), paedophilia,[145][146] phantom pregnancy,[147] pole dancing, post-natal depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, prostitution, racism,[127] rape,[127] revenge porn,[148][149] robbery,[150] self-harm,[133] sex,[151] sexual grooming,[152] shootings (including drive-by shootings),[153] stabbings,[127] stalking,[127] stroke, SIDS (cot death),[154] stillbirth, suicide,[126] surrogacy,[127] teacher-student relationships,[127] teenage pregnancy,[155] terminal illness, and witness protection.

During the show's first season in 1988, a rape storyline for the character Carly Morris (Sharyn Hodgson) outraged the public and a protest erupted, as viewers deemed it an inappropriate subject to be covering in an early evening time slot.

[161] In March 2009, it was alleged that Seven had agreed to censor a then-upcoming lesbian kiss scene between Charlie Buckton (Esther Anderson) and Joey Collins (Kate Bell), after receiving many complaints from conservative groups and mothers who did not want their children exposed to same-sex relationships in a family show.

[162][163] Seven's head of creative drama, Bevan Lee, later confirmed that the censorship allegations were in fact false and that the scene would still go to air as planned.

[164] A 2010 episode which featured Martha McKenzie engaging in a sexual scene with Liam Murphy (Axle Whitehead) on a kitchen table was deemed "too raunchy" by a television watchdog in New Zealand, where, at the time, the series was aired in a G-rated timeslot.

[166] The campaign proved divisive among viewers, with some branding it "epic", but others pointing out that it is insensitive to people going through a similar situation in real life.

[174] A writer for the Australian Associated Press stated that one of the reasons for the ratings decline could be "the viewing habits of Gen Y, which the show is aimed at, have changed dramatically in recent times thanks to the launch of streaming services, Netflix, Stan and Presto.

[175] Pippa Doyle of 96FM reported that declining ratings in 2018 and Seven's decision to push the show back had created doubt about its future on the network, and whether or not a timeslot change or a move to a multichannel was likely.

[219] In 2013, the show launched their first webisode series titled Home and Away Extras, which introduced new characters Andy (Tai Hara) and Josh Barrett (Jackson Gallagher) before they appeared on-air.

The series is presented by former Home and Away actor Jason Smith, who interviews the show's cast members at various Summer Bay locations.