The unique topography of Africa often draws in producers and set designers from numerous TV shows.
The continent has deserts, jungles, savannahs, beaches, ancient and contemporary structures, which give production teams plenty of choices when scouting for filming locations.
Today, let’s look at three critically and commercially successful TV shows which were shot in the continent.
3. Black Sails
Black Sails explores the mythology that precedes the famous novel Treasure Island so you can expect to see gorgeous beaches, old ships and swashbuckling at its very finest.
Although the Emmy-award winning pirate show has a Caribbean setting, the series was primarily filmed in South Africa, particularly in Cape Town Film Studios.
Monkeyland mentioned that the Michael Bay-produced TV series even saw the creation of an artificial beach and a village that has elements from the time period.
The creative team certainly did a good job, as it really looks like the sailors in the show are navigating the Caribbean seas.
Today, the Middle Ages-themed town is already a permanent part of the filming facility. Hopefully, it will be opened to visitors when they’re not in production so that tourists can enjoy these life-sized medieval houses.
2. Homeland
Homeland is another multi-awarded show, with an Emmy, a Golden Globe and a Peabody Award under its belt, among others.
But a report from Channel 24 showed that many of the scenes depicting Islamabad, Kabul and Washington DC in the series were in reality shot in the city of Cape Town.
The South African metropolis was transformed into the three capital cities of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US through building everything from scratch, from costumes to cars to the respective backdrops.
1. Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones is perhaps the hottest media title on the entire planet, averaging around 25 million viewers every episode during its last season. That doesn’t even count its audience via other mediums, according to the Nerdist.
One popular byproduct is the licensed Game of Thrones 15 Lines slot title on Slingo, which now has a global player base. Given its popularity, the filming sets of the series now attract hordes of fans too.
The GoT production team has journeyed to not one, but two African locations for filming, albeit both are in the same country – Morocco.
If you live in Morocco, the chances are you would’ve noticed when the city of Yunkai appeared in the series.
Fortunately, The Fairy Traveler specified that it’s a real ancient city named Ait Benhaddou which sits between Marrakech and the Sahara. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site so it has cultural and historical significance.
The other location is Essaouira, which stood in for the Unsullied HQ, Astapor. This port city faces the mighty Atlantic, and it still has old cannons that were built when the area was still being used as a fortress.
