A film crew for a new Disney+ television series has said farewell to the Northern Illawarra on Wednesday night, filming their final scenes on Thirroul's main beach.
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Princess Pictures has been visiting the region for several days at a time over the last few months to shoot parts of their upcoming eight-episode family dramedy, Last Days of the Space Age.
Thirroul was transformed into a Perth beach in the year 1979 - the main beach used in the film - while BlueScope also features heavily as "the powerplant", with cameos by Sharkie's Beach in Coledale and snippets of Port Kembla.
The Mercury spoke with one of the production crew who said the community had been really welcoming during their visits, even though it meant lesser access to the beach or Thirroul Beach Pavilion for a coffee.
"It's been very welcoming," he said.
"Part of the draw [to the Illawarra] is being in a less populous area where you can share the space better, it makes it more optimal for filming and gets the locals less offside."
He said a bit of "trick photography" would need to be used to ensure Thirroul looked no different to the sandy shores of the west.
It's understood the Illawarra component of filming from the 71-day shoot was now complete, with final pieces to be filmed in WA.
The production had up to 120 cast, crew and extras working on the series, with many hailing from the Illawarra - like star actress Deborah Mailman.
The crew member we spoke to said the uncertainty of Western Australian borders helped push the decision to choose the Illawarra for locations, along with its plethora of crew that could be sourced.
Last Days of the Space Age is set against the real incident of the Skylab Space Station shattering in space, shooting debris over parts of Western Australia in 1979.
"It's a family drama, a societal drama, set against the backdrop of this impending doom," the crew member said. "But all know that Perth is still there."
It's made by the same company responsible for How To Stay Married, It's a Date and I Love You Too and also stars Jesse Spencer, Radha Mitchell and Linh-Dan Pham.
Disney+ Synopsis:
"Last Days of the Space Age" is an eight-part dramedy series set in 1979 Western Australia, when Perth was at the centre of the world's headlines. A power strike threatens to plunge the region into darkness, while the city hosts the iconic Miss Universe pageant and the US space station, Skylab, crashes just beyond the city's suburbs. Against this backdrop of international cultural and political shifts, three families in a tight-knit coastal community find their marriages, friendships, and futures put to the test.
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