Where Is “Territory” Filmed? All About the Real Australian Locations Behind the Netflix Show
Netflix’s newest neo-Western series is filmed throughout South Australia
Massive cattle ranches, arid outback deserts and crocodile-infested rivers make the setting of Territory almost as dangerous as the people who call it home.
Netflix’s newest Australian-based drama starring Anna Torv, Michael Dorman, Robert Taylor and Sam Corlett follows the power struggle that ensues when the family who owns the world’s largest cattle station is suddenly left without an heir. Sensing their vulnerability, every rival is ready to strike at a chance for this billion-dollar piece of land.
The land in question is set in some of the most isolated parts of South Australia that are as real and unforgiving as they appear on-screen. A few of these places are so hard to get to that helicopters and private jets are the main modes of transportation.
So where is Territory filmed? Here’s everything to know about the series’ real-life locations.
Was Territory filmed in Australia?
Yes, Territory was filmed in Australia, specifically South Australia (SA) and Northern Territory (NT). According to Inside Film Magazine, it’s the biggest Netflix series to ever be filmed in SA.
“[The series] captures the vastness, beauty, and scale of the Territory,” screen territory director Jennie Hughes told the Australian publication, “which is going to give this project an unparalleled sense of authenticity, aesthetic, and audience appeal.”
Most of the shooting locations were in highly remote areas, putting the cast in close proximity to local wildlife. Taylor, who plays Colin Lawson, told Cowboys & Indians that during filming, he found a large snake under his bed.
“Before that, there was a smaller one that I found in my sink,” the Longmire actor told the outlet in a September 2024 interview. “It was just a little one. Three feet long or something. Just curled in the basin ... But you should have seen the one under the bed, dude. It was that fat. I’ve got photos of me with it on Instagram.”
Sure enough, the actor posted an Instagram photo of the supposed snake wrapped around his neck in November 2023. The caption? “When working in the northern part of Australia, always check under your bed.”
Where was Territory filmed?
Filming locations for Territory include a real-life working cattle station, one of the largest national parks in Australia and a small farming community in the Adelaide Plains.
Many of the show’s “Top End” scenes — a term that refers to the tropical, northwest part of NT — are shot in Kakadu National Park. Listed by UNESCO World Heritage, the historic and biologically diverse landscape is the largest national park in Australia. It’s home to mudflats, rugged coastlines, dense forests and tons of archaeological sites.
Corlett, who plays Marshall Lawson, told GQ in October 2024 that while filming in an area of the park called Hawk’s Landing, they were welcomed by Elders who told them stories about the surrounding landscape.
“The art that was on the rocks were like you know, tens of thousands of years old,” he said.
“Someone was saying it’s twenty-thousand years old, the rock art, so to be there and tell the story that myself and Sharnie get to tell — that’s almost representative of the youth of Australia, and it felt really special. It felt sacred, you know?”
Mallala, a small farming community set in the Adelaide Plains, is also featured on the show, according to Greater SA.
Is Marianne Station a real place?
Marianne Station, the name of the cattle ranch owned by the Lawson family in Territory, isn’t real. But the series was filmed primarily at Tipperary Station, a real-life working cattle station in NT that is so big it has its own school and airstrip.
Show creator Ben Davies told Inside Film Magazine in September 2023 that 140 members of their 180-member crew were living on the station during filming.
“It’s a monumental effort by production to pull this off in such a remote place,” he said. “In terms of infrastructure and scale this cattle property is unmatched anywhere else in the world, so fortunately it can accommodate our large cast and crew."
He continued, “And with the team living here, we’re capturing remarkably authentic images that, when matched with powerful storytelling, encapsulate the world we’re looking to share, not just locally but globally as well.”
Corlett, a native of New South Wales, told GQ that he wrote poetry from his character’s perspective while living on the station.
“I found myself actually listening to a lot of songs that I used to listen to when I was a kid, because I was returning to Australia to tell stories,” the Vikings: Valhalla actor said. “It was kind of like the reinvigoration of being Australian again.”
Davies told Perth Now that it takes “hours” to drive across the property and the best way to get around is by helicopter, which is a necessary part of station life. While some members of the production crew lived in the station’s home and shearers' quarters, they also had to set up a camping village with over 100 vans and a mess kitchen.
Taylor told Cowboys & Indians that because of the living arrangements — apartments on the ranch they dubbed “The Swamp” — he got into “a little bit of mischief” with his costars during filming.
“Nothing illegal, mind you,” the actor said. “We were out there in the middle of nowhere, man, and it's hot, hot, hot thirsty weather ... And they kept saying, ‘Well, you can’t do this and you can’t do that. You better not do this, and you’re not permitted to do that.’ And we figured, ‘Well, maybe we should give that a try.’ Mostly Michael, to be fair. Mostly him."
He continued, “Yeah, like when they said, ‘Don’t go over there, that’s dangerous,’ we said, ‘We’ll just take a look over there.’ Like, it’s just a couple hundred man-eating crocodiles over there. So what?”
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