Residents of Careel Bay received a Letter on Friday May 9 informing them Return to Paradise Series 2 will be filming at Careel Bay on Wednesday May 14, and will be taking up around 18 unrestricted parking spaces in the vicinity for the day and use a section of the Careel Bay Playing Fields carpark as their unit base for the day.
Spaces and access for residents will be maintained, the letter advises.
Produced by BBC Studios Productions Australia and Red Planet Pictures for the ABC in Australia, the intriguing and entertaining six-part whodunit drama is filming once again in the idyllic Illawarra coastal region, Pittwater, and across the city.
In the first series (2024) the surf club was shot in Bilgola and DI MacKenzie’s house located in Avalon Beach, and continuing over a century of stories being ‘Filmed in Pittwater’.
In fact, the first film to be shot in Pittwater was a 1911 ‘epic’ of a bushrangers story that features Narrabeen in its locations.
In 1925 Henry Raymond Shirley and his troupe of actors stayed at Newport Hotel whilst in Pittwater filming. In that same year he released what was to be his most successful film The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, based on the (1889) book by Fergus Hume (1859-1932) which was another Australian whodunit based in Melbourne.
Film crew and actors in front of Newport Hotel in front of Narrabeen to Newport bus. Circa 1925 - Arthur Shirley is in pith hat.
On November 28th 1926, Norman Dawn, producer and director of For The Term of His Natural Life, brought his actors and film crew to Pittwater to film a famous sequence from this well known book.
1933 was the year Mr Chauvel began dreaming up what would become the film Heritage in response to the Australian Government’s announcement, in pursuit of encouraging the Australian Film Industry, of offering a prize of £2,500 to the best Australian-made film. In October of 1934 he and wife Elsa (Elsie) were visitors to Pittwater, with filming taking place at Great Mackerel Beach.
There have been many more since in film and for television, all celebrating iconic Pittwater - a visual splendour standout being the 2018 shot 'Palm Beach' directed by Rachel Ward and featuring husband Bryan Brown - and Pittwater!
Return to Paradise Series 2, set in the fictional beachside town of Dolphin Cove, will screen on the ABC later this year, and will air on BBC iPlayer and BBC One in the UK.
And so... Dolphin Cove is now, officially, sometimes just down the road from Home and Away's Summer Bay (Palm Beach).
Series two will reunite us with Detective Sergeant Mackenzie ‘Mack’ Clarke (Anna Samson), who’s longing to get back to the UK and the life she’s always craved. But for now she’s stuck in Dolphin Cove, dodging her ex-fiancée Glenn’s (Tai Hara) upcoming wedding after overhearing his unexpected declaration of love in the series one finale - a confession that she can’t unhear.
Luckily for Mack, her compulsion to solve impossible cases serves as a great distraction, and there’s no shortage of murders to investigate. From the literary world to state-of-the-art shark labs, dating apps and rock concerts, Mack and her team face challenging mysteries with their unique blend of humour and tenacity. But Mack’s biggest challenge of all? Finding a way to exist in Dolphin Cove as the ultimate outsider.
Each episode will feature a host of guests including popular Australian screen stars Danielle Cormack, Meyne Wyatt, Roz Hammond, Justine Clarke, Michelle Lim Davidson, Greg Stone, Zoe Carides, Simon Lyndon and Miah Madden. Tim Rogers, the iconic lead singer of rock legends You Am I also guest stars. And Ardal O’Hanlon, the former star of Death in Paradise, returns to reprise his role as the iconic Jack Mooney.
Tim Key, Executive Producer, Red Planet Pictures says: “We were delighted that the world took Mack and the rest of the Australian team to their hearts and it’s a pleasure to be back on the beat with the wonderful cast and crew Down Under. We can promise another series full of ingenious murders, romantic complications and glorious Australian locations, all infused with the unique warmth and humour of the Paradise shows.”
Sue Deeks, Head of BBC Programme Acquisitions says: “More than five million UK viewers took the trip to Dolphin Cove last year, and I’m so pleased that we will soon be heading back Down Under to join Mack and the team for six fiendishly clever and wonderfully entertaining new cases.”
Kylie Washington, EVP and General Manager of Global Entertainment, BBC Studios Australia and New Zealand, said: “We’re delighted that audiences have taken Mack and the rest of the Return to Paradise team to their hearts. Our beautiful beach and bush have provided the perfect backdrop for intriguing, entertaining mysteries with a distinctly Australian twist that have been enjoyed by audiences in 99 countries around the world. We’re excited to get started on season two.”
Return to Paradise is commissioned by the ABC in Australia in association with the BBC and produced by BBC Studios Productions Australia and Red Planet Pictures. The series is co-created and executive-produced by Peter Mattessi, James Hall and Robert Thorogood. Di Haddon is producer. Executive producers for BBC Studios Productions Australia are Kylie Washington and Sophia Zachariou, for Red Planet Pictures are Belinda Campbell and Tim Key and for the ABC are Rachel Okine and Brett Sleigh.
Pretty cool!
With Thanks to the BBC for supplying some insights.
The Avalon Beach set of 'DI MacKenzie’s house'. Image: John Platt/ABC