Written by Shona Smith on Jul 15, 2021. Posted in On Location / Production News

Baptiste swaps the Netherlands for Hungary in second series

The BBC One drama has swapped Belgium and the Netherlands for Hungary. The production, from Two Brothers Pictures, is the second season of the The Missing spin-off which first saw Tcheky Karyo (The Eddy, Genius) take on the role of talented investigator Julien Baptiste.

The new series focuses on the case of British Ambassador Emma Chambers, played by Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve, Mrs Wilson) whose whole family disappears in the Hungarian mountains. Baptiste, once again played by Karyo, takes on the case.

"Budapest is a unique city. It has a beauty that belies its history. Its history is utterly chilling.

In a recent BBC interview, Karyo said: “Amsterdam became a character by itself in series one in the way the story developed. With series two, Hungary is just as much a character in the way the story develops, not in touristic attributes, but more as a society in turmoil.”

Shaw prepared for her role by visiting the British Ambassador to Hungary and explained further:  “Budapest is a unique city. It has a beauty that belies its history. Its history is utterly chilling, you have of course the blowing up of their bridges after the war, then the reign of terror in the 50s, you have a huge exodus of people, so it’s quite an empty city. It’s got all the grandeur of the Austrian Hungarian empire, but all of the horror that they haven’t quite cleared themselves out of yet.

It is very much a character in the show, and as always, it’s a privilege to film in these cities! We filmed in the famous railway station that was designed by Eiffel, as in the French Eiffel, so it is like this Parisian glass jewel box above the station. We of course filmed on the bridges and in the city - walking down Andrassy, which is the big main street, was a privilege. It’s got a strange sort of turn of the century feel about it, it has a darkness from its history, even though it’s got magnificent architecture and beauty.”

"It’s got a spooky, lost-in-time feeling about it. We also go into the Hungarian mountains which are ‘old world’ and eerie.

Baptiste Producer John Griffin said:Budapest is another incredibly beautiful and historic city, it is very distinct and has this amazing 19th century part of the city called Pest. It’s got a spooky, lost-in-time feeling about it. We also go into the Hungarian mountains which are ‘old world’ and eerie woodland. Budapest is charming and amazing and it’s very easy to make it look sinister as there are imposing buildings. There is a sense of what we remember from the Cold War, but it’s all been modernised, however those shadows still remain and it’s those shadows that Julien is moving in.”

 

"The Hungarian capital is well known as a double for European capitals which has made Hungary a popular production base.

The Hungarian capital is well known as a double for European capitals which has made Hungary a popular production base. In 2019 the country recorded the highest ever figure for send on film production in Hungary, including 83 foreign productions. The country has facilitated shoots for Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 and Dune, Michael Bay’s 6 Underground and Netflix fantasy series The Witcher and Shadow and Bone as well as a large number of commercial shoots. Hungary provides a 30% tax rebate for film and TV productions which can reach 37.5% through the addition of qualifying non-Hungarian costs.

Images: BBC / Two Brothers Productions

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