Fleabag producers to shoot cat-and-mouse thriller in SA
Film & TV
A new six-part thriller produced by the team behind the Emmy-winning hit Fleabag will be shot in the South Australian outback in what is said to be the biggest-budget TV series ever filmed in the state.
The Tourist, a co-production by UK television channel BBC One and Australian streaming service Stan, is described as “a character-driven mystery-packed thriller, full of shocking, surprising, funny and brutal turns”.
It is being produced by London-based Two Brothers Pictures (which also produced TV drama The Missing and Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s UK comedy-drama Fleabag), in association with SA company Highview Productions (led by producer Lisa Scott, whose credits include the TV series Janet King, Pine Gap and Wolf Creek) and the South Australian Film Corporation.
Although the cast and exact filming locations haven’t yet been revealed, SA Minister for Innovation and Skills David Pisoni said SA would benefit from a “significant regional shoot” that would inject millions into the state’s regional economy.
In a joint announcement this morning, the producers and SAFC said The Tourist begins with a British man being chased by a tank truck in the Australian outback. Later, he wakes in hospital with no idea who he is but “merciless figures” from his past pursuing him.
“The six-episode series twists and turns through the dusty outback of South Australia, to the frantic noise and lights of Singapore, and to the calm, luxury white-sand beaches of Bali.
“At its heart, however, is a story of self-discovery with a ticking timebomb underneath: as The Man starts to uncover the mystery of who he was, he’s also forced to ask who he is now – and fast.”
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BBC Drama’s Piers Wenger hailed the story, written by Harry and Jack Williams, as “one of the boldest and most brain-twistingly brilliant conceits which thriller fans will have experienced in a long time”.
Filming on the series is due to begin later this year.
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