Dhruv Trivedi
‘The Mosquito Coast’ is an adventure drama series based on the 1981 best seller book of the same name by travel writer and novelist Paul Theroux. Developed by Neil Cross and Tom Bissell, the story follows an inventor Allie Fox (Justin Theroux, nephew of Paul Theroux), who, disillusioned by modern American society and running from a criminal past, decides to uproot his family and head for Latin America.
What follows is a wild adventure that sees the family of four on the run from both government agents and cartel bosses, making their way through the dusty borderlands to coastal Mexico. If you’re wondering where this adaptation of ‘The Mosquito Coast’ is filmed, we’ve got the info!
The Mosquito Coast Filming Locations
‘The Mosquito Coast’ starts off in Southern California, where Allie and his family live, and then follows them across the border to Mexico. In reality, too, the show is filmed on location in parts of Southern California and Mexico, giving the family’s wild ride into the Latin region an air of authenticity.
After commencing the filming in March 2020, only to get interrupted due to the Covid 19 pandemic, production on season 1 resumed in October 2020 in Mexico and continued through February 2021. Additional filming was also done in California. Let’s take a closer look at the specific filming locations of this series.
Nayarit, Mexico
The series is filmed extensively in the coastal state of Nayarit and features many of its towns as the family moves from place to place. A few scenes were also filmed at Riviera Nayarit, a nearly 200-mile coastline that stretches from Nayarit to Nuevo Vallarta.
Many of the locations used are in the picturesque resort towns of the state, including Lo de Marcos, Cruz de Huanacaxtle, and the Punta de Mita peninsula in Banderas Bay. Further inland, the town of Valle de Banderas at the foot of the Vallejo Mountains is also used for outdoor filming.
Jalisco, Mexico
The neighboring state of Nayarit – Jalisco – is used for filming the more urban scenes. Production in the state’s capital city of Guadalajara went on for more than a month.
Following this, the crew moved on to the town of Zapopan and then to the beach resort city of Puerto Vallarta, situated on the Pacific Ocean’s Banderas Bay. The bay, incidentally, is shared between the states of Jalisco and Nayarit.
‘The Mosquito Coast’ is reportedly one of the largest productions that the state of Jalisco has ever hosted. Filming was also initially started in Mexico City in March 2020 but was soon stopped due to the pandemic.
Ventura County, California
Scenes portraying Allie Fox’s home in Southern California and the family’s life before they become hunted fugitives are filmed in Ventura County, located in southern California.
The production team filmed in the historic town of Piru, as well as the cities of Moorpark and Fillmore to portray the areas surrounding Polski’s asparagus farm, where Allie works. The asparagus farm is mentioned in the book as well as in the 1986 film starring Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, and River Phoenix, which is based on the book.
The series is also filmed briefly in San Joaquin County as well as Los Angeles County. Filming in the latter region specifically took place in the crowded neighborhood of Van Nuys in San Fernando Valley in LA city.
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