Diving with the Stars

Introducing the Dive Club

Director Rhiannon Bannenberg (left) and producer Steve Jaggi (right) with actresses Sana’a Shaik, Mercy Cornwall, Miah Madden, Georgia-May Davis and Aubri Ibrag in Port Douglas.

TANYA MURPHY

The idyllic charm of Port Douglas and the underwater beauty of the Great Barrier Reef will soon be gracing screens across the globe as the setting for a Netflix television series.

Major publicity, employment and economic benefits are expected for Far North Queensland as more than 100 actors and crew spend the next three months filming teen mystery drama ‘Dive Club’ in and around Port Douglas.

To be released in 2021, the 12-episode series about the adventures of a group of teenage girls who are skilled scuba divers will premiere to Australian audiences on Network 10, and then screen in more than 190 countries as a Netflix original.

Filming started on Monday, November 2, and locations include Macrossan Street and

most of the historic buildings around Port Douglas such as the iconic Lakeside Retreat, as well as Mossman and some of the beaches between Port Douglas and Palm Cove. Underwater scenes will be shot at various sites on the outer Great Barrier Reef.

A number of local dive operators have been engaged to help take cast and crew to the outer reef, and with more than 100 cast and crew from across Australia staying in local hotels and patronising local businesses, the project is a welcome economic boost during what has been a difficult year for the region.

The cast have already spent a month learning advanced diving skills with local dive operators the Tech Dive Academy.

Producer Steve Jaggi of The Steve Jaggi Company, who has already had success in the young adult genre with series Rip Tide (Amazon Prime),

Back Of The Net (Disney US, Foxtel AU) and Swimming For Gold (Universal), said it was a pleasure to work with the local community.

“I think we’ve hired everyone in the region who works in film and television and we’re also providing traineeships to train new crew, through Screen Queensland,” he said.

“Although the main actors come from down south, a lot of supporting roles have gone to people from the Cairns and Port Douglas region and we will continue to engage local extras as needed throughout the three and a half months of shooting.”

Mr Jaggi, a self-confessed scuba addict, said everyone involved was “having the time of their lives” living and working in Port Douglas and diving the Great Barrier Reef while the film and television industries in London and Los Angeles were at a relative standstill

due to COVID-19.

“Things are so difficult around the world with a global pandemic, we feel so lucky to be somewhere that’s so safe,” he said.

“We’re incredibly grateful to the Queensland government and Screen Queensland for building this environment in our state where we can stay open for business and film.

“We’re the envy of the world. We’ve had a lot of emails and phone calls from LA and London wondering how we’re managing it.

“I think this series will be a big international success because it’s good, but also because there’s a big demand for content across the world right now because nobody else can make it.”

Mr Jaggi said the show would be a first for the Australian television industry.

“For a show made in Australia

and by Australians, to go out as an international production to 190 countries is just massive,” he said.

“Australia makes really good kids’ content but this will be the first big teen production.

“It’s like a cross between Riverdale and Pretty Little Liars with a little bit of Pirates of the Caribbean thrown in, and although it’s in the young adult genre, it’s something that people in their 20s and 30s will watch too.

“Its such a big thing for everyone involved and a lot of stars have aligned to make this happen.”

Member for Mulgrave Curtis Pitt said the production would inject nearly $8 million into the state economy and also create more than 110 jobs for local cast and crew.