Lights, camera, Queensland: 30 TV series filmed in the Sunshine State
Following the hype of Netflix bonanza Boy Swallows Universe, take a look at some of the series and old-school classics filmed on the streets of Queensland. SEE WHERE
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Queensland is becoming ‘Hollywood Down Under’ in the Australian film industry, with more and more filmmakers, both nationally and internationally, looking to the Sunshine State to make award-winning television and movies.
The Gold Coast recently hosted the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards, the state’s debut as host of the prestigious awards night after a year of generating a record $700 million in local expenditure for the Queensland film industry for the 2022-23 financial year.
Through incentives such as the Screen Finance and Development fund and the Queensland Government’s Production Attraction Strategy and Post, Digital And Visual effects (PDV) incentive, the screen industry is continuing to deliver economic benefits and local jobs to the state.
In the last financial year, Queensland hosted 30 per cent of all scripted feature films and series across various platforms, an increase of nine per cent from previous years.
And it’s not just blockbuster hits that have been putting Queensland on the map, but small screen series as well, with the recent show Boy Swallows Universe becoming a global hit on Netflix.
With Queensland-made productions only expected to grow, take a look at some of the most iconic TV shows filmed across the state and the spots where they were filmed.
Boy Swallows Universe (2024)
Netflix’s latest hit series, Bow Swallows Universe is a six-part series that puts Brisbane on the map, telling the story of 12-year-old Eli Bell’s tumultuous childhood as he navigates life with a mute brother, drug-addicted mother and heroin-dealing stepdad.
Adapted from Trent Dalton’s semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, the series was filmed entirely in Queensland, showcasing iconic landmarks of the southeast corner of the state.
The majority of the series was filmed in Beenleigh, including the Bell family home which is located on Cameron St, with other filming locations including Beenleigh Aquatic Centre and Beenleigh State School.
Stones Corner Freemason’s building acted as the office of The Courier Mail while the front of The University of Queensland’s Emmanuel College was transformed into the Brisbane police headquarters.
Boy Swallows Universe is currently streaming on Netflix.
READ MORE: FULL LIST OF BOY SWALLOWS UNIVERSE FILMING LOCATIONS
REVIEW: BOY SWALLOWS UNIVERSE IS DAZZLING ADAPTATION OF BEST-SELLING NOVEL
Black Snow (2023)
A year before his most recent stunt in Bow Swallows Universe, Travis Fimmel starred in the six part whodunit series Black Snow, following his cold-case detective character James Cormack returning to the fictional North Queensland town of Ashford, filmed in the Whitsundays.
Set both in 1994 and 2019, the series follows a detective’s return to his sugarcane town 25 years after the mysterious death of a 17-year-old girl that was never solved.
Filmed in 2022, the show features 48 different locations across Proserpine and Airlie Beach and included the help of 350 locals who performed as background extras in the show.
The heritage-listed Proserpine Hospital at Herbert St can be seen filling in as the fictional Ashford State High School throughout the series.
Other shooting locations include Proserpine’s Main St shops, the green benches outside of Proserpine Library, Wilmar Sugar Mill, Les Stagg Oval and a house on Faust St acting as the exterior of the local church in the series.
Black Snow was nominated for seven AACTA Awards in 2024 including Best Drama Series and Best Lead Actor in a Drama (for Travis Fimmel) and is currently streaming on Stan.
In Our Blood (2023)
Dramatising Australia’s political response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, ABC’s four-part series In Our Blood is set primarily in Sydney, but was filmed in Brisbane to recreate iconic Sydney and Canberra locations.
Spring Hill’s Sportsman Hotel doubles as Sydney’s Oxford St club, Patchs, while Brisbane City Hall can be seen in various interior shots to portray Canberra’s Parliament House.
In Our Blood was nominated for two AACTA Awards in 2024 including Best Miniseries and Best Lead Actor (for Tim Draxl) and is currently streaming on ABC iview.
Irreverent (2022)
Netflix recently put the Cassowary Coast on the map after being chosen as the filming location for Irreverent, a series about a Chicago crook forced to go into hiding as a church minister in a remote Queensland community.
Featuring international and homegrown talent including P.J. Byrne, Colin Donnell, Susie Porter and Russell Dykstra, the show was mainly filmed on the Mission Beach coastline and the Ulysses Track, with the Great Barrier Reef playing backdrop for the drama series.
While filming, production crew and actors donated to conservation group C4 to help with their efforts towards cassowary conservation.
Irreverent is currently streaming on Netflix.
Joe vs. Carole (2022)
Shot entirely in Queensland, Hollywood A-listers Kate McKinnon, John Cameron Mitchell and Kyle MacLachlan made the trip down under in 2021 to film Joe vs. Carole.
The series is based on the true story of big-cat rescuer Carole Baskin and zoo operator Joe Exotic’s famous rivalry, made popular by the hit Netflix documentary series Tiger King.
Filming in various council regions including Brisbane City, Moreton Bay, Scenic Rim, Redland City, Logan City and the City of Gold Coast, the series showcased Main Beach as a stand-in for Tampa in Florida and Alexandra Hills in place for Oklahoma’s GW Zoo.
Keen watchers of the NBC Universal show will also be able to spot South East Queensland locations including Redlands Veterinary Clinic in Thornlands, Raby Bay Foreshore Park, Old Government House, Alexandra Hills Hotel and Conference Centre, and St Andrews Anglican Church in Lutwyche that were used for various on-set locations in the series.
Joe vs. Carole is currently streaming on Stan.
Young Rock (2021-2023)
Detailing the formative adolescent years of professional wrestler and blockbuster actor Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, the autobiographical NBC series Young Rock filmed its first two seasons in South East Queensland, featuring a plethora of local talent.
The first season began filming in October 2020, with Brisbane, Wynnum, Camp Hill and Gold Coast suburbs transformed into Hawaiian and U.S. destinations.
Scarborough’s Tempest Seafood Restaurant was transformed into a Hawaiian diner called ‘Lorenzo’s’, Carlos Naples Pizza Restaurant in Strathpine was rebranded as El Nostimo Pizzeria where ‘The Rock’ worked in his youth and Wynnum’s Sports Karate Australia transformed into a 1980s bodybuilding gym where Johnson’s love for wrestling began.
Football scenes were filmed at Redcliffe’s Dolphin Stadium, the Queensland Art Gallery in Southbank was made to replicate the University of Miami, and Froggy’s Beach doubled for a Hawaiian beach.
Filming for season two of the series shifted to Gold Coast’s Village Roadshow Studios, with various scenes shot on location in late 2021 at Somerset College, the former Sizzler restaurant at Mermaid Beach and Sanctuary Cove IGA.
Young Rock, starring Uli Latukefu, is currently streaming on BINGE and Foxtel.
READ MORE: FULL LIST OF YOUNG ROCK FILMING LOCATIONS IN QLD
GOLD COAST SPOTS TRANSFORMED FOR YOUNG ROCK SEASON TWO
The Wilds, Season 2 (2021)
Starring Rachel Griffiths, Mia Healey and Shannon Berry, The Wilds is an American drama series following a group of teenage girls left on a deserted island after a plane crash, only to realise they are part of a social experiment.
After the first season was filmed in New Zealand, production for season two moved to Queensland after a $9.8 million injection from the Federal Government, with expectations that the show would bring $73 million to the Australian economy and an additional 270 jobs for Queensland cast and crew.
Filmed on the Gold Coast, majority of the filming took place on North Stradbroke Island at Point Lookout and near Deadman’s Beach.
After production, several American cast members spoke out about a lack of food options on the island and how they often ate pub food at the Stradbroke Island Beach Hotel.
The Wilds is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Total Control (2019-2024)
A female-led political drama starring Deborah Mailman and Rachel Griffiths, the first season of ABC’s Total Control uses the outback town of Winton as a key location in the series.
Filming in Winton for five weeks in 2019, the drama series follows Mailman’s character Alex, an Indigenous social worker who gets scouted to become a senator by the Prime Minister, portrayed by Griffiths, following a heroic act in her hometown of Winton.
Winton Shire Council building is the first location seen in episode one of the series, with many of Winton’s streets and shops seen in later episodes, including Elderslie St shops.
Total Control is currently streaming on ABC iview and features an all-star cast including William McInnes, Wayne Blair, Anthony Hayes and more.
Reef Break (2019)
Starring Australian-born actor Poppy Montgomery, French-American crime drama series Reef Break premiered in June 2019 with the oceans of the Gold Coast acting as the backdrop for the fictional U.S. territory of Reef Island.
Miami Beach was transformed into a fake surfing competition for the series, with other spots including Fisherman’s Wharf, Tamborine Mountain Rainforest, Boggo Road Goal, Roosevelt Lounge, the Palazzo Versace Hotel and Archerfield Airport used throughout the series.
Filmed in 2019 across five months, Reef Break injected approximately $41 million into the Queensland economy and employed a 75 per cent Queensland crew.
Lunatics (2019)
After the success of his series We Can Be Heroes, Summer Heights High, and Ja’mie Private School Girl, Chris Lilley began filming his next mockumentary series in 2019, choosing the Gold Coast for his Netflix series Lunatics.
Following six quirky characters, including fashionista Keith Dick, seven-foot college student Becky Douglas, 12-year-old troublemaker Gavin McGregor, pet psychic Jana Melhoopen-Jonks, real estate agent Quentin Cook and hoarder Joyce Jeffries, the series documents the crazy day-to-day lives of these unique characters, all portrayed by Chris Lilley.
Bond University doubled as the fictional American Butterfield University, Platinum Nightclub donned a new name on a Tuesday night in May 2018 for a night of filming and a Sovereign Islands mansion featured in the first episode as a property Lilley’s real estate agent character was attempting to sell.
Lunatics is currently streaming on Netflix.
Harrow (2018-2021)
Starring Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd as Daniel Harrow, a forensic pathologist investigating mysterious deaths, Brisbaners will know all about the show Harrow which was filmed in and around Queensland’s capital city.
Various Brisbane locations appeared in the series’ first two seasons, with ABC Headquarters in South Bank doubling as a police station, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) standing in as a courthouse and Dr. Harrow’s lab shot at Brisbane Dental Hospital in Turbot St.
Kangaroo Point appears in the show, with Dr. Harrow’s house boat moored there along the Brisbane River, and local bars including Fortitude Valley’s Bloodhound Corner Bar and Kitchen and Cobbler in the West End making brief appearances in various episodes.
Harrow is currently streaming on ABC iview.
READ MORE: IOAN GRUFFUDD STARS IN NEW TV SERIES HARROW, SET IN BRISBANE
The Bureau of Magical Things (2018-2021)
A kids fantasy TV series following Kyra, a girl who gets magical powers, Netflix’s The Bureau of Magical Things is an Australian show shot entirely in Queensland from H2O: Just Add Water producer Jonathan M.Shiff.
Starring Cairns-born sibling actors Julian and Lizzy Cullen, the show’s two seasons were filmed on the Gold Coast in 2017 and 2019, using various locations across southeast Queensland to create the fictional fantasy world.
The fictional River City High School was set at A.B. Paterson College in Arundel, as well as the set of the Department of Magical Intervention which was filmed at Arundel Hills Country Club.
One episode set at The Ganway Cafe was filmed at The Forceful Steam Tug at the Queensland Maritime Museum and Kyra’s house is located along Talinga Cres in Southport.
The Bureau of Magical Things is currently streaming on Netflix.
Grace Beside Me (2018)
Premiering on NITV in February 2018, children’s TV series Grace Beside Me follows the story of 13-year-old Fuzzy Mac who discovers she can communicate with spirits in her small fictional town of Laurel Dale, shot in the Scenic Rim.
Starting filming in July 2017, producers used landmarks and buildings in both Beaudesert and Boonah as the setting for their fantasy show, including the council office in Boonah and Beaudesert Primary School.
Adapted from the novel of the same name by one of the show’s writers, Sue McPherson, the show filmed on Mununjali Country with granted permission from the traditional owners.
13-year-old Kyliric Masella who starred as Fuzzy Mac in Grace Beside Me became one of the youngest Logie award nominees in history for her role after being up for Most Popular New Talent in 2018.
Grace Beside Me is currently streaming on ABC iview and SBS On Demand.
Tidelands (2018)
Netflix’s first original Australian series on the platform, Tidelands is a supernatural crime drama set in the fictional Queensland town of Orphelin Bay, filmed exclusively in South East Queensland and the Moreton Bay region.
Many of the establishing town shots of Orphelin Bay’s coastline were filmed at Dunwich on North Stradbroke Island, with another shot showing James St shops in Burleigh Heads.
The main character, Cal McTeer’s house is located on Palm Ave in Shorncliffe.
Tidelands is currently streaming on Netflix.
Hoges: The Paul Hogan Story (2017)
Celebrating the life and career of Australian legend Paul Hogan, Hoges: The Paul Hogan Story was filmed exclusively in and around Brisbane, with Josh Lawson playing the akubra-wearing croc hunter and recreating scenes from the infamous Crocodile Dundee.
With filming taking place in 2016, the biopic transformed Brisbane’s QPAC into the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles to re-enact the 1987 Academy Awards, with Lawson and fellow actors Justine Clarke, Nikki Osborne and Ryan Corr making appearances in South Bank to shoot the scene.
Sirromet Winery in Mt Cotton was also used to replicate Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory where Hogan filmed parts of Crocodile Dundee.
Hoges: The Paul Hogan Story is currently streaming on Stan.
Secrets & Lies (2014)
Starring Martin Henderson, Anthony Hayes, Adrienne Pickering and more, Secrets & Lies is a crime drama following a man who finds a four-year-old boy’s body and becomes the main suspect of his mysterious death.
The six-part thriller was filmed in and around the suburb of Ashgrove in Brisbane, with the main family home of the series located on Quandong St off Enoggera Rd.
Keen eyes will be able to spot shops along Waterworks Rd in a car scene in the final episode, with Golden King Bakery and Meat At Billy’s butcher shop briefly seen in the background.
Other locations include the former QBuild office at 30 Cribb Street in Milton acting as a Queensland Police Station in the first episode and Mt Thompson Memorial Gardens and Crematorium in Holland Park as the venue for a funeral in the series.
In 2015, an American adaptation was made of the series with the same name, starring Ryan Phillippe and Juliette Lewis.
Secrets & Lies is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
The Straits (2012)
With a premise strikingly similar to Succession, Brian Cox stars as the patriarch in The Straits, where he must decide who will succeed him in running the Montebello family drug smuggling business in Far North Queensland.
Shot in FNQ and the Torres Strait Islands, the crime drama was shot at several locations in Cairns, including Wayne Leonard Motorcycles on Water St, Rusty’s Markets on Sheridan St, Stratford Village Pharmacy and the former Cape York Hotel on Bunda St.
Cairns Base Hospital is featured in various episodes of the series, with the Worklink centre on Sheridan St used as a stand-in for a police station.
Written by Louis Nowra, The Straits is currently streaming on ABC iview.
SLiDE (2011)
Filmed and set in Brisbane, SLiDE is a teenage coming of age series which follows five Brisbane teenagers on their journey to adulthood and originally aired for 10 episodes in 2011 on FOX8.
Much of the series is based at Urban Hotel on Wickham Terrace, with many scenes taking place inside and outside the venue where the characters work.
Other locations include St Joseph’s Nudgee College, as well as various spots across Fortitude Valley, Southbank and Surfer’s Paradise.
The Pacific (2010)
Produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg and based on the 2001 series Band of Brothers, the war drama miniseries The Pacific filmed in Queensland from late 2007 to early 2008 to tell the true stories of three Marines fighting in the Pacific theater in World War II.
The 10-episode television production was the most expensive miniseries to be filmed in Australia to date, estimated to cost $120 million and filmed across both Melbourne and Queensland.
Queensland was featured in four and a half of the ten episodes, with filming taking place in Port Douglas and Mossman, with Rocky Point portraying a rural beach and Mowbray National Park used for rainforest scenes.
The Pacific is currently streaming on BINGE and Foxtel Go.
Sea Patrol (2007-2011)
Starring Matt Holmes, Lisa McCune, Saskia Burmeister and Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Sea Patrol first premiered on the Nine Network in 2007 and followed the lives of crew members aboard the fictional patrol boat HMAS Hammersley of the Royal Australian Navy.
Totalling five seasons and 68 episodes, Sea Patrol shot primarily in the Gold Coast, Cairns and in Sydney and followed the navy characters dealing with illegal fishing, drug smuggling, mysterious deaths and immigration along the Australian coastline.
A large majority of the filming took place in Mission Beach, with episodes shot in the Cassowary Coast for two months every year for five years from 2007 to 2011, creating hundreds of jobs for locals.
When Sea Patrol announced its fifth season would be its final one, the show was bringing in more than 1.1 million viewers.
Sea Patrol is currently streaming on Nine Now.
H2O: Just Add Water (2006-2010)
An internationally renowned kids show starring Phoebe Tonkin, Claire Holt and Cariba Heine, H2O: Just Add Water was filmed exclusively in Queensland and follows the lives of three teenage girls who become mermaids with magical powers.
Production primarily took place on the Gold Coast, with Somerset College the location of the girls’ high school and the Southport Yacht Club’s clubhouse ‘Hollywell Bar & Bistro’ as the site of the fictional Juice Net internet cafe.
While many of the underwater scenes were shot inside Village Roadshow Studios, much of the show was filmed on location at SeaWorld and at the homes of characters Emma and Cleo, located on Anglers Esp at Runaway Bay and Margaroola Ave in Biggera Waters.
H2O: Just Add Water is currently streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Kath & Kim (2002-2007)
While it’s a well-known fact the hit comedy series Kath & Kim was shot at a Melbourne home in the fictional Fountain Lakes in Victoria, one episode of the beloved Australian series was filmed almost entirely in Queensland.
The first episode of the fourth and final season ‘The Holiday’ featured Kath, Kel and Sharon joining Brett and Kim on a romantic holiday in Queensland, shot at the Hyatt Coolum resort.
Kath & Kim is currently streaming on Netflix.
Medivac (1996-1998)
A well-known Australian medical drama, Medivac was filmed in the former Australian Taxation Office building at 320 Adelaide St in the Brisbane CBD, filling in as the set of the fictional Bethlehem West Hospital.
Locals will recognise the building on the corner of Adelaide and Wharf St as the current site of Brisbane’s Christie Centre.
Medivac is currently streaming on streaming service Plex.
Flipper – The New Adventures (1995-2000)
A revival of the classic ‘60s show, Flipper – The New Adventures stars Brian Wimmer, Colleen Flynn and Jessica Alba in a series about dolphin researchers, filmed primarily on the Gold Coast inside Sea World.
The fictional Bal Harbour Research Institute in Florida was filmed inside the Gold Coast theme park, as well as near the waterfront near Ephraim Island and inside the Village Roadshow (formerly Warner Bros) sound stages.
More Shows Filmed in Queensland
- Family Law (2016-2019) – Brisbane
- K9 (2009-2010) – Brisbane
- The Strip (2008) – Gold Coast
- Mortified (2006) – Gold Coast
- Fat Cow Hotel (2003) – Harrisville
- Sleepover Club, Season 1 (2003) – Gold Coast
- Cybergirl (2001-2002) – Brisbane
- Misery Guts (1998) – Ipswich
- Pacific Drive (1996-1997) – Gold Coast
- The Wayne Manifesto (1997) – Brisbane
- Fire (1995-1996) – Brisbane
- Ocean Girl (1994, 1997) – Townsville, Great Barrier Reef
- Time Trax (1993-1994) – Brisbane, Gold Coast
- Barrier Reef (1970-1972) – Great Barrier Reef
Originally published as Lights, camera, Queensland: 30 TV series filmed in the Sunshine State
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