Written by on Feb 23, 2015. Posted in On Location

Drama series Dig returns to Croatia to film more episodes on location

New US drama series Dig has returned to Croatia to film more episodes on location. The show is a murder mystery set in Jerusalem and filmed in the city until last year’s conflict between Israel and Gaza prompted the producers to relocate.

Jerusalem exteriors were first recreated in the Croatian cities of Dubrovnik, Trogir and Split, while studio work was filmed in New Mexico. The set up was initially considered a temporary arrangement, but producers are now filming more episodes in Croatia, with part of the story specifically relocated.

“The fact that we are in Croatia for a second time now has to do a lot with the fact that we love this country, we love the locations, we love working with the people,” said Gideon Raff, creator and executive producer, in comments to Filming in Croatia, “but without a rebate, without a financial incentive, it would be very hard to convince our bosses to come here.”

Network NBC is spending just under USD 5.5 million in Croatia over the course of a 40-day shoot and will get a rebate of just over a million dollars through the country’s 20% filming incentive. Embassy Films is servicing the shoot.

“The locations featuring as Croatia show a lovely, rural side of Croatia not often seen with lots of lush farms and vibrant family life,” Embassy’s Erika Milutin told The Location Guide when the Dig producers first chose Croatia: “For the Jerusalem locations, with a bit of set-dressing magic, the old, limestone streets of Trogir, Split, and Dubrovnik are a dead-ringer for Jerusalem's streets.”

Croatia has enjoyed a heightened international profile in recent years, partly through its repeated appearances in Game of Thrones. The HBO fantasy series shoots in several parts of the country and uses Dubrovnik as a stand-in for King’s Landing, the capital city of Westeros.

Report: Middle East dramas in vogue but Israel loses location filming to Malta and Croatia

(Photo: USA Network)