Naman Shrestha
From the mind of Miranda Nation, Paramount+’s ‘Playing Gracie Darling’ revolves around the mysterious disappearance of 14-year-old Gracie Darling during a seance nearly three decades ago. Her best friend, Joni, has been haunted by the incident as she holds herself responsible for Gracie’s disappearance. Fast forward to 27 years, kids in the same quaint town have made a game out of the incident called “Playing Gracie Darling.”
However, what seems to be a fun game turns into something sinister when another young girl vanishes after the enactment of a seance while playing the game. Now a child psychologist, Joni receives news of the same from a local police officer. In order to redeem herself, she returns to the town and joins forces with Jay, a police sergeant, hoping to get to the bottom of the mystery this time around. The haunting and suspenseful tale of the Australian mystery thriller drama series primarily unfolds in the small town where Gracie Darling and another girl, 27 years later, disappear. Acting as a haunting presence throughout the narrative, the town adds a layer of horror and suspense to the story.
Playing Gracie Darling Filming Locations
‘Playing Gracie Darling’ is shot in Australia, especially in different locations across New South Wales. According to reports, principal photography for the inaugural iteration of the mystery show got underway by mid-January 2025 after receiving funds from Screen Australia and Screen NSW. After a couple of months of an intense shooting schedule, the production was seemingly wrapped up in March of the same year.
New South Wales, Australia
To create the mystical environment of ‘Playing Gracie Darling,’ the production team settled on New South Wales on the east coast of Australia. A portion of the filming took place in the Hawkesbury River region, particularly around the eponymous river, which served as the perfect backdrop as Joni Gray and Jay scour the woods to find Frankie and uncover the mystery behind their friend Gracie’s disappearance 27 years ago. Shrouded by forested hills, sandstone cliffs, mangroves, and dense bushlands, the Hawkesbury River lends a sense of wilderness and isolation to the narrative. For the purpose of filming, the cast and crew also visited several locations in Sydney, the capital of New South Wales.
There, the team utilized the production facilities provided by Disney Studios Australia. The 32-acre site is located at Building 16/38 Driver Avenue in Moore Park. It is renowned for its fully-equipped soundstages spanning 15,000 sqm, production offices, theaters, heritage structures, backlot area, and more. A few sequences were also taped at a 60-hectare heritage-listed site called Callan Park at Balmain Road in Lilyfield. According to reports, in March 2025, the team was spotted filming at Brooklyn Oval, a sports complex on Brooklyn Road in the eponymous city. Around the same time, some scenes were lensed at Crosslands Reserve in Hornsby Heights. The family-friendly campground is a popular tourist destination located in Berowra Valley National Park, accessible via Somerville Road.
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