Where Was The Crusoe TV Show Filmed?

The filming locations for ‘Crusoe’ are quite impressive. The majority of the show was shot in South Africa, based in the Cape Town area, and many of the scenes were shot in the dense forests and by the rugged coastlines. They also managed to find a few historic looking structures that added to the backdrop of the Caribbean scenes. Some of the interior scenes were shot in a studio in the UK but the majority of the outdoor scenes were shot on location in South Africa. A place that is hundreds of miles from the location of the original ‘Robinson Crusoe’ by Daniel Defoe, but looks perfect for the setting of the TV adaptation. The cliffs near Cape Town are even more breathtaking than they look in the show and it’s easy to see why they used it for many of the pirate adventure scenes.

My favourite thing about the show is that the cast and crew really made the most of the gorgeous South African locations. Sure, there may have been the occasional computer generated image, but most of the beautiful waterfalls, stunning beaches and dense jungle were all real. In one of the early episodes, Crusoe builds a treehouse and the way the light filters through the leaves is just gorgeous. From what I gathered from the behind-the-scenes shots, the cast had to deal with loads of real wildlife on set, even having monkeys sneaking into shots. It was great how the location of the show almost became another character and I think the producers did a fantastic job of creating an immersive setting for ‘Crusoe’.

Many of the scenes from 'Crusoe' were shot in South Africa, which provided the authentic and rugged backdrop to the story. Much of the film was shot on location using South Africa’s beautiful natural assets such as long expanses of beach and dense jungle forest. Most people would expect a film set in the Caribbean to be shot somewhere in the region but the stunning landscapes of South Africa have provided the perfect alternative. The lead actor in an interview spoke about how surreal some of the remote locations were and how they reflected the isolation of Crusoe in the story. In the end a combination of real locations and UK studio sets were used to achieve the film’s aim of capturing the wild and deserted island that Crusoe found himself stranded on.

I watched a couple of episodes of this. It was fine. It looked very nice and I had no idea they went to so much trouble to film it. Obviously it wasn’t worth it in the end as no one remembers the show but I suppose it was a nice holiday for the people involved. The treehouse was quite cool.