Why a high-budget dinosaur drama was filmed in Australia instead of Hawaii
In short: When Steven Spielberg produced the ambitious sci-fi series Terra Nova, he vetoed Hawaii as a filming location to avoid comparisons to his 1993 hit Jurassic Park. The production moved to Queensland, Australia, where it constructed over 250 sets and spent millions to bring a prehistoric colony to life.
Terra Nova was a high-stakes science fiction drama that aired on Fox for a single season in 2011. Set in the mid-22nd century, the story follows the Shannon family as they escape a dying, overpopulated Earth by traveling through a temporal rift to a parallel version of the Cretaceous Period, 85 million years in the past. The series was designed to be an ambitious, expensive production, with an average episode budget of about $4 million—significantly higher than the $3 million average for network dramas at the time.
The production process was notably intense. Filming took place in south-east Queensland, Australia, where the crew faced torrential rain that necessitated additional shooting in 2011. While a typical television drama episode took eight to nine days to film, Terra Nova required six weeks for post-production, double the industry average. To ensure the creatures felt distinct from those in the Jurassic Park franchise, the producers hired paleontologist Jack Horner to design realistic, plausible dinosaurs, supplementing the limited fossil record with fictional species.
Despite a strong premiere that drew 9.22 million viewers and high DVR retention, the series faced significant financial pressure. Fox took the unusual step of ordering thirteen episodes upfront to avoid the cost of dismantling and rebuilding the massive Australian sets. However, the show's high production costs and complex visual effects requirements ultimately contributed to its cancellation in March 2012. Although 20th Century Fox attempted to negotiate a second season with Netflix, no deal was reached, leaving the story of the Shannon family and their struggle against the separatist Sixers and the invading Phoenix Group concluded after just one season.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Terra Nova (TV series)
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