Written by on Jan 3, 2014. Posted in On Location

Broadchurch miniseries remake to film in British Columbia with David Tennant

An American remake of the acclaimed British miniseries Broadchurch is scheduled to start filming this month in the Greater Victoria region of British Columbia. Like the original UK series, Gracepoint will tell the story of the impact of a child murder investigation on a seaside community.

Former Doctor Who star David Tennant played the lead detective in Broadchurch (right) and will also star in Gracepoint, albeit with a character name change and an American accent. The supporting cast will include Nick Nolte and Breaking Bad’s Anna Gunn.

“We start shooting in Vancouver and somewhere near Santa Cruz in January and I'm looking forward to that,” Gunn told Press Association: “I have watched [the British version] and it's amazing. I am thrilled the amazing David Tennant will be joining us.”

The municipality of Oak Bay on the southern tip of Vancouver Island will be one of the central filming locations for the miniseries.

“The news that Oak Bay will be transformed into a Pacific Northwest seaside community for the series means that Oak Bay will be on the world production map, with potential to bring future major television and film productions to our community and region that will translate into millions of dollars for the local economy,” local council member Cairine Green wrote on her blog.

We start shooting in Vancouver and somewhere near Santa Cruz in January and I'm looking forward to that.

Anna Gunn, Actress

Vancouver Island is a convenient filming location as it offers visuals that can feel remote, while offering easy access to the city of Vancouver. Recent Superman movie Man of Steel is among the big-budget productions to have filmed scenes locally, doubling the area for Alaska.

British Columbia largely doubled for San Francisco in the recent JJ Abrams-produced TV drama Alcatraz and is currently doubling for Idaho in M Night Shyamalan’s upcoming TV drama Wayward Pines.

(Photo: ITV)