Collaroy: Fishermans Beach location for ‘Barons’ blockbuster ABC TV surf drama
The northern beaches has been chosen as a location to shoot scenes for ‘Barons’ — a blockbuster eight-part TV surf drama
Manly
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Part of a blockbuster new TV series — based around surfing — will be filmed on the northern beaches.
Scenes from the ABC-commissioned drama “Barons” will be shot later this year on Fishermans Beach at Collaroy, the Manly Daily can exclusively reveal.
The epic eight-part series tells the story of a group of young surfer mates in the 1970s who go on to become bitter rivals in the cut-throat world of the giant surfwear retail industry.
Its producers have already leased a historic, heritage-listed fisherman’s hut on the beach just north of Long Reef Headland, from Northern Beaches Council, until at least October.
A work crew for the series has already transformed the hut by adding a temporary extension and fictitious signage to the original timber-clad building.
Barons was originally set to be filmed in the US and Indonesia in 2020, as well as Australia, but filming will only occur in NSW now, due to Covid.
Screen Australia, which is financially backing the multimillion-dollar production, described it in a media release as: “The hedonistic world of surfing, the cutthroat culture of big business and the emotional rollercoaster of relationships, will collide in the new eight-part drama series Barons.”
The series will follow the lives of the young idealistic surfers as they go on to create billion-dollar surfwear, clothing empires in competition with each other.
ABC Head of Drama, Entertainment and Indigenous Sally Riley said the “uniquely Australian story” will have a “a free-spirited sense of adventure, a cast of extraordinary characters and stunning ocean backdrops”.
“Barons promises to take audiences on an unforgettable ride,” Ms Riley said. “It’s a uniquely Australian story from a stellar creative team and we can’t wait to dive into production.”
It is being produced by 2Jons, Micanical Media and Fremantle. Barons is created by Michael Lawrence (Bra Boys, Fighting Fear) and John Molloy (The Gloaming, Molly) and multi-award-winning writer Liz Doran (Molly, Please Like Me) with producer Justin Davies (Beautiful People, Absolutely Fabulous) heading Fremantle’s creative team.
Other writers include Marieke Hardy (Laid, Seven Types of Ambiguity) and Matt Cameron (Secret City, Jack Irish).
Emmy Award-winning surf director Taylor Steele (Momentum Generation, Proximity) will direct the action sequences.
Names of cast members are not yet available. It is expected to air on the ABC in 2022.
Council CEO Ray Brownlee said the production crew had been given the required heritage exemption to use the hut that accommodates the Fisherman’s Hut Association.
“Work to lovingly restore the iconic building was completed in mid-2019.
“The hut is currently being used by a film-production company until October and they are putting temporary cladding and structures up,” Mr Brownlee said.
The Manly Daily has previously reported that there were a number of huts built by fishermen, at what came to be known as Fishermans Beach on the northern side of Long Reef.
The first of the may have been built as early as the 1870s by fishermen taking advantage of the protected spot to launch their boats.
They built the small huts in which to stay overnight or for several days. Eventually there were about seven and at least three became permanent homes for their “owners”.
There was also at least one lone female resident of one of the huts, known as the Cat Lady because of the number of cats she kept.
But because they were illegal, there is little in the way of official records about the huts or the fishermen who built or used them.
Today there is only one hut left at Fishermans Beach.
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