Dhruv Trivedi
‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ is a mystery drama miniseries based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty. The story follows 9 strangers, each battling with their own demons, who arrive at an exclusive retreat for some much-needed rest and rejuvenation. However, the therapy turns out to be more experimental than they expect and is led by the mysterious guru Masha, who seems to be harboring a dark secret.
Equally exotic is the retreat where the show’s eccentric characters find themselves for the 10-day program, and it is within these lush surroundings that the show is set. Curious about where the show is filmed and whether there actually is a retreat that looks like that? We’ve got some interesting news in store for you.
Nine Perfect Strangers Filming Locations
The show is set predominantly within the confines of the exclusive retreat and was filmed on location in New South Wales, Australia. It was initially set to film in Los Angeles, California but production had to move to Australia because of the global coronavirus pandemic. The cast and crew reportedly had to follow strict quarantine protocols prior to their arrival on-set and also during the length of the production.
The COVID-19 pandemic also seemingly caused some sourcing shortages for set design. However, the challenges were taken in stride by the crew and helped along with the exotic furniture that was fortunately available in some of the filming locations themselves. Principal photography reportedly commenced on August 10, 2020, and wrapped up on December 21 of the same year. Let’s take a closer look at the specific locations used by the show.
Byron Bay, Australia
Byron Bay and its surrounding areas in northeastern New South Wales, Australia, are predominantly where the miniseries was filmed. A luxury retreat called Soma Byron Bay was one of the main filming locations, and much of it stands in for the Tranquillum House Retreat that the show centers on. The then-newly built modern retreat was transformed for production of the show, with extensive cosmetic changes added on by the production design and set decoration crews.
The team also reportedly built a house on the property to double up as Masha’s office on the show. The Soma Byron Bay retreat is located at 221 Kennedys Lane, Ewingsdale. Two properties were seemingly used to depict the ultra-luxurious Tranquillum Retreat, with Soma Byron Bay being one of them.
The second site is an equally exotic property named Lune De Sang in the Byron Bay hinterland owned by the former mining executive Andy Plummer and his wife. The 146-hectare sustainable timber plantation is located about 25 kilometers west of Australia’s easternmost point and is home to multiple buildings that include sheds and a private residence, all designed keeping the aesthetics of the surrounding forest in mind.
Incidentally, the owner’s interesting rhetorical reasoning of why a shed can’t be beautiful has resulted in the breathtaking stone, cement, and wood architectural marvel that stands in for the entrance of the Tranquillum House retreat but is, in fact, a shed. The buildings, including the shed in question, have been designed over many years by the Sydney-based agency—Chrofi and forms a multigeneration vision for the building and the surrounding native forest.
Other Locations in Australia
Filming for the miniseries also seemingly took place in a few other parts of New South Wales, most notably in the town of Ballina and the city of Sydney. These could include some of the flashback scenes (like those of Tony during his heyday as a professional football player), as well as scenes in the show’s opening sequences that depict the nine unsuspecting “strangers” making their way from the city to the Tranquillum House retreat.
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