Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘The Last Night at Tremore Beach’ follows the story of a music composer, Alex, who moves to a small town named Tremore to get some peace of mind, especially after having a series of bad events. Having a divorce, being separated from his children, and losing a well-built career, all in one stroke has led him down a very dark road. So, he decides to get away from all of that for a while, to take a break and figure out what he wants to do next. This move becomes a significant decision as it completely transforms his life. The eight-episode series employs the small seaside town of Tremore as a character in itself, but it does so by putting its picturesque surroundings on display, making the viewer want to pack their bags and take a break there themselves.
The Fictional Town of Tremore is Brought Alive by a Real Spanish Town
Tremore is a fictional town created by Mikel Santiago for his novel ‘The Last Night at Tremore Beach’ (‘La última noche en Tremor,’ in Spanish) on which the Netflix series is based. In the novel, Tremore is a small town in Ireland. In the show, however, the setting is changed to Spain, with Tremore set somewhere in Asturias region. There is a real seaside town called Tramore in Ireland. However, it doesn’t seem to have any connection to Tremore depicted in Santiago’s novel and the Netflix adaptation.
Talking about the inspiration behind his book, Santiago revealed that the idea came to him in 2008 when he was at a beach in Skerries, Ireland. He saw a solitary house by the sea, and the image of the place captured his imagination, leading him to write the first chapter of the story. He mentioned that while writing the novel, he imagined someplace like Donegal, Ireland. He also referenced the fictional Alaskan town of Cicely, as portrayed in the 1990 TV series, ‘Northern Exposure.’ His idea was to create a small town with less population and few amenities that would focus more on the isolation of a person.
The book is brought to the screen by director Oriol Paulo, who also co-wrote the series. During the writing process, it was decided to move the setting from Ireland to Spain because Paulo wanted it to feel closer to home. While he found isolation and seclusion as a major theme of the story, he believed that the story would have a greater impact if it also had the protagonist coming back home, considering how deep he has to go into his past and make peace with the things that have happened within his family to move forward. It made sense that in his most vulnerable moments, he would come back home.
The region of Asturias seemed to fit the description of Tremore in Santiago’s book, and it was decided to take the fictional town there. To make it feel more authentic, the creators of the show found a real town in Asturia to sit for Tremore. Puerto de Vega, in the municipality of Navia, was used as the backdrop of the story. Considered one of the most beautiful towns in Asturias, Puerto de Vega is known for its natural beauty, and the crew made full use of its spectacular vistas to create the hauntingly beautiful town of Tremore. The fictional Wind Beach, which appears in several scenes of the story, was also filmed at the beaches of Puerto de Vega, like Frejulfe and Barayo. Thus, the crew brought to life the town that Santiago had imagined while penning his novel.
Read More: The Last Night at Tremore Beach: Does Sultan the Dog Die? What Happens to Socks the Cat?
