Review
Netflix’s new murder mystery series The Survivors takes place in a small town in Australia, but the production made use of a few different filming locations to make the scenes come to life. The gripping murder mystery series centers on a couple, Kieran (Charlie Vickers) and Mia (Yerin Ha), returning to their hometown for the first time in 15 years to attend the memorial of the deaths of two young men, one of whom was Kieran’s brother. Mia’s friend Gabby (Eloise Rothfield) has also disappeared, and a woman investigating this case is killed.
The Survivors‘ cast of characters all seem somewhat suspicious as the show slowly builds towards the reveal of who killed Bronte (Shannon Berry) and whether her death, as Mia theorizes, is connected to the long-ago disappearance of Gabby. By The Survivors‘ ending, it becomes clear that there was always much more to the story than the inhabitants of Evelyn Bay knew. Their beautiful, dangerous town becomes the backdrop for the characters to explore their memories of and feelings about what happened 15 years ago, and the setting is crucial to this.
Netflix's The Survivors Was Filmed In Various Cities Within Australia
Like Its Setting, The Survivors Was Filmed In Tasmania
The Survivors’ murder mystery centers on the deaths of the two men who drowned years earlier, by a new incident in which a woman is found dead on the beach, so it was absolutely crucial that Netflix get the show’s setting and filming locations right. The physical locations, particularly the cave and the beaches, are essentially their own characters as everything that occurs in The Survivors requires the stunning scenery to evoke an incredibly dangerous feeling in viewers.
Filming took place at Eaglehawk Neck, which showcases the series’ recognizable rocky shoreline.
The waves crashing and the rocky cliffs work to make the viewer feel trapped, mirroring the experience of Kieran and Mia as they grow claustrophobic in their former hometown. Because of this, the show’s decision to actually film in the Australian state of Tasmania works perfectly. Though the story is set in the town of Evelyn Bay, The Survivors was filmed in the state’s capital city, Hobart. Netflix’s Tudum also shared that filming took place at Eaglehawk Neck, which showcases the series’ recognizable rocky shoreline.
Along with filming in Tasmania itself, The Survivors used Docklands Studios in Melbourne (via TV Tonight). Having some of the production take place in the Melbourne studios makes sense for interior shots. The crew would have more control over the environment, allowing the series to focus on the characters and their emotions in some scenes without losing the authenticity of Tasmania’s rugged coastline and the dangers that it presents to the characters.
Is The Survivors' Evelyn Bay A Real Location In Tasmania?
Evelyn Bay Is A Fictional Town
While The Survivors certainly creates a realistic-feeling environment through its use of locations in Tasmania, its actual setting, Evelyn Bay, is completely fictional. The Survivors is based on the book of the same name by Jane Harper, and it borrows its source material’s locale. Speaking with Tudum, the show’s creator, Tony Ayres, stated, «Evelyn Bay doesn’t actually exist. Jane [Harper] made it up out of a number of different places,» highlighting the author’s creativity and potential desire to separate it from a real location.
The Survivors‘ story itself is quite heavy at times, and the fictional setting of Evelyn Bay leans into that level of drama. By creating a small, tight-knit community, Harper’s characters are forced to grapple with their past and the negative emotions that they have been keeping at bay for so long. The location itself seems somewhat suspended in time, with everyone, including Kieran’s family, still harboring anger about what happened to his brother.
The real Tasmanian filming locations reflect the characters’ pasts and grief while making it clear that those emotions don’t just disappear.
As Ayres also noted: «Big emotions play out in this big landscape. That’s why Tasmania works so well.» In essence, Ayres’ comments perfectly explore how the fictional Evelyn Bay feels very authentic. The real Tasmanian filming locations reflect the characters’ pasts and grief while making it clear that those emotions don’t just disappear. In short, though Evelyn Bay may not be real, The Survivors does a great job of creating real feelings surrounding it.
Sources: TV Tonight, Tudum
