Written by new-contact on Mar 12, 2014. Posted in On Location

BBC to film Jimmy McGovern historical TV drama Banished on location in Australia

The BBC will start filming new historical TV drama Banished on location near Sydney, Australia, in the next few weeks. McGovern’s seven-part drama is loosely based on real events and tells the story of Britain’s first Australian penal colony in the late 18th Century.

Banished is a co-production between RSJ Films and See-Saw Films. It will be screened on BBC Two in the UK and on BBC First in Australia, a new premium channel for BBC drama and comedy that will launch in the country in August this year. Banished will air on the channel in 2015.

“This is a very exciting first commission for BBC First,” said BBC Worldwide ANZ’s Director of Television Natalie Edgar: “It exemplifies all the things that BBC drama stands for with outstanding talent on both sides of the camera.

“Jimmy McGovern has been responsible for some of the most groundbreaking drama series created over the years and after the huge success of Top of the Lake (right) I’m delighted to be working with See-Saw Films again as well as the talented team at RSJ.”

Banished will co-star Australian actor David Wenham, who also featured in Top of the Lake.

Added McGovern: “How the first convicts survived is the best story I've come across in over 30 years as a dramatist. When you've got something like that, you don't worry about the narrative; you just concentrate on the characters. That is what we did. Consequently I don't think I've ever written anything so character-driven.”

This is a very exciting first commission for BBC First. It exemplifies all the things that BBC drama stands for.

Natalie Edgar, Director of Television at BBC Worldwide ANZ

Sydney and New South Wales have been attracting higher-profile international productions in recent months. The hit US sitcom Modern Family has spent the past few weeks filming a special holiday episode locally and epic historical adventure movie Gods of Egypt is shooting in Sydney under the direction of Australian filmmaker Alex Proyas.

Australia's filming incentive programme includes a 16.5% Location Offset for TV productions that spend at least a million dollars per hour of screen-time.