Since 2017, Kangaroo Point and other locations in Brisbane have served as the backdrop for the popular Australian TV series, “Harrow,” led by Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd. The show, now in its fourth season, is the first drama production from ABC Studios International and Disney Media Distribution.
The home-grown episodic thriller, seen across the globe through various platforms and on ABC, is a forensic drama revolving around Dr. Daniel Harrow, a forensic pathologist working for the fictional Queensland Institute of Forensic Medicine. His laboratory is supposedly within the heritage-listed Brisbane Dental Hospital and College on Turbot Street in the city.
In the early seasons of “Harrow,” the show depicted the doctor’s character as living in Kangaroo Point in a sailboat moored somewhere along the Kangaroo Point riverwalk. The actual sailboat is actually called Tiamo, owned by Phillip Smart, a businessman from the Sunshine Coast. For over a decade, Mr Smart has kept Tiamo moored in Kangaroo Point because it has the best views in Brisbane and there are plenty of things happening around his deck.
Kangaroo Point is a major location in the series, with the show taking advantage of the Story Bridge in many of its shots. Other familiar local sites include St. Mary’s and the Story Bridge Hotel.
Most Australian crime dramas are usually set in Sydney or Melbourne thus making “Harrow” an exceptional production for picking Brisbane as its location.
“The development and filming of Harrow in Queensland is a great coup for our state and will drive Queensland’s ongoing momentum for making and attracting quality local and international productions,” said Screen Queensland CEO Tracey Vieira after Hoodlum, the Brisbane-based production, secured the series in 2017.
The show has also been filmed in the CBD, New Farm, Bowen Hills, South Bank, Fortitude Valley, Ashgrove, Yeerongpilly, Coorparoo, Yeronga, Annerley, Chelmer, East Brisbane, Hamilton, Indooroopilly, the Gold Coast and several regional Queensland areas.
The Brisbane locations in “Harrow” aren’t the only standouts as the production has also included many local references, from day-to-day life in Brisbane to the flora and fauna of the Queensland wildlife.
“Harrow” is Mr Gruffudd’s longest-running TV show. ABC has yet to confirm the fourth season following its third season run in early 2021. Presumably, the pandemic has delayed the return of production in Brisbane.
The show also stars Ella Newton, Hunter Page-Lochard, Darren Gilshenan, Jolene Anderson, and Damien Garvey.