Darby and Joan is filmed across Queensland, because this place is so beautiful, but also because of its significance to the characters in the narrative.
Darby and Joan is a popular show in which the two independent and wildly different stars of the show embark on a road trip to solve various mysteries along the way.
Part of what makes the show so popular is the scenery which forms the backdrop of this road trip and the investigations, many of which were filmed in Queensland.
Why do people watch Darby and Joan?
Darby and Joan first aired on Acorn TV on 8 August 2022 and the show has managed to draw many loyal viewers and fans in the short time since its initial release.
Although the premise of the show is not particularly ground-breaking, fans watch the show because of the unique, unplanned road-trip dynamic approach which is at the centre of the main storyline.
Although the conflict between the show’s two main characters may seem predictable at first, the show handles this in a positive and funny way to add nuance to the story instead of just relying on this conflict to provide interest in the show.
Where is Darby and Joan filmed?
Although the co-stars of the show, Emmy-winning actress, Greta Scacchi, who plays Joan, and Emmy-nominated actor Bryan Brown in the role of Darby, did an amazing job of balancing the humour, intrigue, and complexities that these main characters require, they are not the only factors that have contributed to the success of the show’s first season.
Since the show actually revolves around the road trip that Darby takes with his dog, Diesel, which Joan then later joins, when they meet in the Australian Outback, the scenery and locations that they visit along the way when they are investigating new murders also become an important part of the show as a whole.
In order to capture the sense of vastness and the beautiful Australian landscape that becomes so central to the story, much of Darby and Joan is filmed in Queensland.
There are, of course, specific locations in Queensland that will be more recognisable to fans of the show than to others, but most of the places in Queensland share the same type of geology and climate that is featured in the show.
Filming so much in Queensland has not only been helpful to the show to symbolise a deeper truth about the main characters and how the relationship between them has developed throughout the first season, but it has also been beneficial for the local economy and the job market in Queensland.
This makes it an excellent choice for the show’s team and to support the local communities.
Specific places in Queensland where Darby and Joan is filmed
Although Darby and Joan is mostly filmed along the Gold Coast of Queensland, if you really want to visit a few specific locations where the show was filmed, then there are a few places that you can visit.
Some of the specific places where scenes from the show were filmed and where you can have the real Darby and Joan experience include Scenic Rim, Redland City, North Stradbroke Island, Mount Isa, and Cairns.
These locations provided the vast, yet recognisably Australian landscapes that the show required, and they form the backdrop of many of the mysteries that Darby and Joan investigate as they travel.
Minjerribah, and more specifically, Amity Point, South Gorge, Cylinder Beach, and Home Beach, are some of the locations that fans of the show would likely easily recognise from the first two episodes of the series and that really set the tone for the natural beauty of the landscapes that follow in the rest of the first season.
Why was Queensland chosen as the backdrop for Darby and Joan?
Besides the fact that Queensland is obviously extremely naturally beautiful and that it would make the show visually stunning to watch, this location was specifically chosen as the place where Darby and Joan would be filmed, because it is such a significant part of the journey that Darby and Joan take together within the show.
Queensland was also chosen for its vast landscapes, as they symbolise the individual journeys that Darby and Joan took as they investigated mysteries along the way.
How does filming Darby and Joan in Queensland affect the community?
Although it is sometimes a bit of an imposition for the local communities when the 75 cast and crew members of Darby and Joan show up to film the show, it is estimated that the show has injected about $6.6 million into the local economy and created about 95 new jobs in the process of filming in Queensland, which makes up for this slight inconvenience.