Victoria’s reputation as a hotspot for screen production continues to go from strength to strength, with filming of the new TV series The Dispatcher delivering a $50 million boost to the state’s economy.
Minister for Creative Industries Colin Brooks recently visited The Dispatcher set at Docklands Studios Melbourne to meet actor Brendan Cowell, director Christian Schwochow and executive producers Hakan Kousetta and Joanna Werner as filming on the six-part series wrapped up after 20 weeks in Victoria.
The series was predominantly filmed in regional Victoria, generating a significant economic boost in the regions, and is set to showcase diverse locations – including Altona, Somers, Hoddles Creek, Yarra Bend Park in Fairfield, Avalon, Warburton, Mount Dandenong, Warrnambool and Portland – to a global audience.
According to the state government, The Dispatcher created 768 jobs for Victorian cast and crew, employed a further 900 background artists, with 450 taking part in scenes at Warrnambool’s Flagstaff Hill Museum, booked hotel 21,000 nights across Victoria and engaged 735 local businesses across the state including accommodation, hospitality, and transport.
It also provided invaluable training, development and employment for 22 emerging Victorian screen practitioners in diverse roles such as shadowing director, assistant director, shadowing producer and across areas including production design, lighting, transport and scriptwriting.
The Dispatcher is a psychological drama starring Gotham Award-winning actor Patrick Brammall (Colin From Accounts, Evil) as a former police detective who is searching for his missing daughter. Based on Ryan David Jahn’s novel of the same name, the series has been adapted by Victorian writer and executive producer Kris Mrksa.
The series also stars BAFTA Award nominee Maxine Peake (Words of War, Say Nothing, Black Mirror), Brendan Cowell (Dune: Prophecy, Plum), Daniel Henshall (Mickey 17, How to Make Gravy), Jessica Wren (Mr. Inbetween, Return to Devil’s Playground), Zahra Newman (Thirteen Lives, Addition) and newcomer Chloe Jean Lourdes.
The Dispatcher is the latest in Victoria’s growing pipeline of screen productions including Liam Neeson thriller The Mongoose, The Untitled John Tuggle Project, World War II thriller Play Dead, the original Stan series Gnomes, and ABC drama series Goolagong. Many of these have also filmed in regional Victorian locations.
