Leftovers producer praises Victoria filming locations

Part of the third season was based at Docklands Studios Melbourne, while location filming took place across Victoria.

“It is an English-speaking country, it has skilled technicians who go back and forth between television and feature films and we are getting a look here that is exceptional because the technicians are so qualified,” said Eugene Kelly, one of the show’s executive producers, in comments to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Rod Allan, chief executive of Docklands Studios, told the paper that the comparatively low value of the Australian dollar is helping attract US productions.

“It starts to get problematic really when it gets over US80¢,” Allan told the Sydney Morning Herald, of the shifting rate of the Australian dollar against its US counterpart. “We would rather see the dollar around US70¢.”

Australia offers a federal filming incentive support programme and Victoria also offers its own Production Incentive Attraction Fund for film and TV projects spending at least AU$3.5m.

“It’s the only place on Earth that offered the perfect blend of mythic weirdness and post-apocalyptic imagery,” said Damon Lindelof, showrunner on The Leftovers, when the Australia shoot was announced earlier in the year.

There is intense competition among Australia’s state governments to offer better regional incentives. Queensland is a popular choice for international shoots, while New South Wales recently launched its own regional fund to bring more productions to Sydney and its surrounds.

For more on filming in Australia see our production guide.

Image: HBO