The cast and crew behind the ABC’s most-watched show of 2023 have returned to Tasmania to begin filming the second season of the hit homegrown crime drama, Bay of Fires.
Star and co-creator Marta Dusseldorp said she and the team were “absolutely thrilled” to be returning to the state to film season two.
Filming is currently underway across Hobart and will soon wrap up before the cast moves to the west coast.
“We’re particularly excited to get over there and really bunker down over the winter. We’ll be there for about a couple of months,” Dusseldorp said.
“[The locals] can’t wait to have us back … We get to fill up the restaurants and the cafes and the wine bars and also show this beautiful region to the world.”
The series is being backed financially by the Tasmanian Government, Fremantle Australia, Screen Australia, VicScreen and Dusseldorp’s company Archipelago Productions.
“Together they all came right back on board and were able to make it as big and as bold as it was in season one,” she said.
Dusseldorp has ambitious plans to match or even exceed the viewership numbers of season one when the show drops next year.
“We intend to do that again in 2025 … We can’t wait to show you more … It’ll be coming to your screens on the ABC very soon,” she said.
Arts Minister Madeleine Ogilvie hopes to attract more shows like Bay of Fires to film in Tasmania with the introduction of a $1 million Island Screen Incentive program.
Productions can apply for a grant of 10% of their expenditure on Tasmanian goods and services during production, up to a maximum of $500,000.
“We’re putting more into screen because Tasmania loves drama,” Ogilvie said.
“2024 is expected to be a record year for screen production in Tasmania and we anticipate Bay of Fires will contribute more than $8.3 million to the Tasmanian economy on goods and services alone.”
Season one of Bay of Fires received $1.5 million in support from the Tasmanian Government, while season two is set to receive a total of $1.7 million, including a $200,000 grant for training opportunities for emerging Tasmanian filmmakers.
