TV Shows Filmed In Fiji: Adventure & Reality | FJ

the adventures of the seaspray

Introduction

Fiji is considered a paradise for many location scouts. TV Shows Filmed in Fiji provide directors with a wide variety of backdrops. From hit series to short-lived flops, there’s no shortage of television shows filmed within Fiji. Here is a list of some of the shows — from long-running classics to one-hit wonders — filmed in Fiji’s tropical paradise.

“Adventures of the Seaspray,” a beloved 1960s television series, follows the exploits of widowed journalist Captain Dan Wells and his children – Mike, Noah, and Sue – as they sail the Pacific aboard the schooner “Seaspray” with their Fijian crewman, Willyum. With 33 thrilling episodes filmed in the picturesque Fiji Islands, the show captures the imagination of viewers with its tales of adventure and camaraderie, making it a timeless classic cherished by audiences of all ages. In contrast, “World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji” offers a contemporary glimpse into the world of expedition racing, featuring teams of adventure athletes racing non-stop across challenging terrain in Fiji. Hosted by Bear Grylls, the series showcases the spirit of human perseverance and teamwork amidst extreme adversity, making it a compelling watch for fans of adventure and exploration.

Other notable series set in Fiji include “A Place in the Sun,” which blends real estate and travel exploration, and “Australian Survivor,” a gripping reality show where contestants vie for a cash prize in a remote location. Additionally, “Beauty and the Geek Australia” and “Celebrity Love Island” provide entertaining twists on reality TV formats, while “My Pacific Quest” follows Kiwi adventurer Ellis Emmett on an incredible journey across the South Pacific.

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Adventures of the Seaspray (1965) | TV Show

Seaspray Day Sailing Side view of the vessel with a lady swimming alongside the hull of the vessel. Crystal Clear Waters

Overview
Media

Series Overview: The Adventures of Seaspray,” produced by New Zealand-born filmmaker Roger Mirams, aired in 1967, comprising 33 episodes. The series, a beloved family favorite on ABC TV throughout Australia in the 1960s and 1970s, captivated audiences with the tale of widowed journalist Dan Wells sailing the Pacific on his 25-meter schooner, the “Seaspray.” Accompanied by his three children – Mike, Noah, and Sue – and their Fijian crewman, Willyum, the show became a cherished after-school pastime, uniting families and igniting the imagination of every schoolboy and girl with dreams of adventure. Main Cast: Susanne Haworth as Sue Wells, Gary Gray as Mike Wells, Leoni Lesinawi as Willyum, Walter Brown as Captain Dan Wells Filming Locations: Fiji Islands.

Each episode saw the Wells family embark on thrilling journeys across the South Pacific, offering viewers a glimpse into the wonders and challenges of life at sea. From encountering exotic locales to facing daring escapades, “The Adventures of Seaspray” captured the hearts of audiences as they eagerly followed the exploits of this intrepid crew, making it a timeless classic in the annals of television history. Full Episode List and descriptions of Adventures of the Seaspray series can be found in the footer of the article.

Treasure Island (1997) | TV Show

Treasure Island TV Series Cover Image

Overview

Series Overview: Twelve strangers find themselves marooned on a deserted island in Fiji, tasked with solving clues and puzzles to win $25,000. Every week, two individuals are eliminated. Main Cast: Bree Tomasel as Self, Matt Chisholm as Self. Filming Locations: Nyarokorokoyawa Island, Mamanuca Islands, Fiji

Under One Roof (2002–) | TV Show

Under One Roof Cover Image

Overview

Series Overview: Under One Roof is a reality show that pits five families against each other for the prizes of a lifetime. Taking place in a single house, the families face a variety of challenges, but the one that outlasts the rest gets to keep the beachfront house in Fiji. Filming Locations: Fiji Island.

Exposure: Sports Illustrated Swimsuit (2011) | TV Show

Exposure Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover Poster

Overview
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Series Overview: Exposure gives you a behind-the-scenes look into the creation of the highly anticipated SI Swimsuit Issue. Main Cast: Alyssa Miller as Self, Anne Vyalitsyna as Self, Brooklyn Decker as Self, Chrissy Teigen as Self. Filming Locations: Turtle Island, Fiji

Beauty and the Geek Australia (2009-2014) | TV Show

Beauty and the Geek Australia (2009-2014) Poster

Overview

Series Overview: Stunning girls and genius guys live together and team up as they compete in hilarious and heart-warming challenges to test their intellect and social skills. Main Cast: Bernard Curry as Host, Sophie Monk as Host, James Tobin as Host. Filming Locations: Fiji Islands

Radar Across the Pacific (2012–2014) | TV Show

Radar Across the Pacific Cover

Overview

Series Overview: The Radar lives in the world’s biggest Polynesian city – Auckland. But he doesn’t know much about his Pacific neighbors. In TV ONE’s gorgeous new local series, Radar Across the Pacific, he travels to the islands to find out more. Main Cast: Te Radar as Host, Filming Locations: Fiji Islands

A Place in the Sun (2011-) | TV Show

A Place in the Sun (2011-) Main Thumbnail

Overview

TV Show Overview: Mixing two of the most popular types of programs, real estate, and travel – “A Place in the Sun” is a unique hybrid. Based on the hit U.K. show, “A Place in the Sun” fully immerses the viewer in each location to find out why it is a hot spot for those looking to buy abroad. Main Cast: Danielle Robb as Self, Filming Locations: Fiji Islands, Fiji.

Australian Survivor (2016-) | TV Show

Survivor Cast Photograph

Overview
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Series Overview: A reality show where a group of twenty-four Australians is stranded in a remote location with little more than the clothes on their back. The winner takes home $500,000 and the title of Sole Survivor. Main Cast: Jonathan LaPaglia as Host, Filming Locations: Fiji Islands.

Kicking & Screaming (2017–) | TV Show

Kicking & Screaming YouTube Thumbnail

Overview
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Series Overview: A competition series that teams 10 expert survivalists with pampered partners to face the toughest challenges of their lives. Main Cast: Hannah Simone as Host, Filming Locations: Fiji Islands.

My Pacific Quest (2017-) | TV Show

My Pacific Quest Cover Image

Overview
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Series Overview: Kiwi adventurer Ellis Emmett embarks on an incredible journey across the waves of the South Pacific. He must harness the power of the wind to explore some of the most remote islands and atolls on the planet. Main Cast: Ellis Emmett as Host. Filming Locations: Fiji Islands

Bachelor in Paradise (2018-2020) | TV Show

Bachelor in Paradise (2018-2020) TV Series Poster

Overview

Series Overview: Join your favorite Bachelors and Bachelorettes on their second chance quest to find true love. Main Cast: Osher Günsberg as Host. Filming Locations: Mango Bay Resort, Tadrawai Valley, Namatakula, Fiji

World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji | TV Show

World Toughest Race Fiji - Eco-Challenge Fiji (Courtesy of Management) - TV SHOWS

Overview
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Series Overview: World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji is television series documenting a long-range multi-day expedition race in which teams race non-stop with little to no sleep over mountains, jungles, and oceans. The series is a revival of the Eco-Challenge series first broadcast from 1995 to 2002. Simply put, Eco-Challenge is the World’s Toughest Race. It’s an expedition against the clock in which international teams of adventure athletes race non-stop, 24 hours a day across hundreds of miles of remote backcountry terrain. Each team is comprised of four competitors and must include at least one member of each gender. All teams are supported by an assistant crew member who is responsible for resupplying the four athletes on their team at key points along the course.

The teams must navigate through the backcountry using only a map and compass. Smartphones and GPS devices are strictly prohibited. If a team loses a member along the way, whether due to injury, exhaustion, or disagreement they will be disqualified. Only teams that can work together under extreme stress and fatigue, showing a high level of expedition problem-solving skills will have any chance of success. Although the first team to cross the finish line will be the winner, any team that completes the entire course will have truly achieved the exceptional … since they will have finished the World’s Toughest Race! (Courtesy of WTRECF). Main Cast: Bear Grylls as Host. Filming Locations: Leleuvia Island, Ovalau Island, Navura River, Namosi Eco Retreat, Viti Levu’s Mountainous interior

The Castaway | TV Show

The Castaway TV Series Cover

Overview
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Series Overview: Lori and Erin embark on what was supposed to be the holiday of a lifetime. However, following a massive argument, Erin never makes it onto their final flight, and the plane fails to reach its destination. Months pass with no wreckage found and no survivors discovered. That is, until now. Main Cast: Sheridan Smith as Lori, Celine Buckens as Erin Holme, Brendan Cowell as Mike Brass, Lasarus Ratuere as Felix Vatubua, Dominic Tighe as Daniel Eldridge, Charlotte Vega as Amber Gordon, Celeste Dodwell as Natasha, Joseph Mydell as Jack Bantock. Filming Locations: Fiji Islands

Conclusion
Footnotes
References

Once everything is planned, simply relax and enjoy your time in Fiji. Immerse yourself in the culture, explore the beautiful landscapes, and make the most of your tropical getaway.

Footnotes: Adventures of the Seaspray: Season 1: E1-E32

S1 E1 – Mutiny On The Seaspray:The Seaspray’s rudder is in desperate need of repair. While sailing to the nearest port, Willyum spots a rowboat adrift with two men lying unconscious inside. When the men recover, the Wells family discovers that the men are criminals who plan to hijack their schooner.
S1 E2 – Voyage Into Danger: The Seaspray makes landfall at what the Wells family assumes is a deserted island in order to replenish their water supply. The sound of a gunshot shows them that the island is not uninhabited after all and find a man, left on the island for survival training, being pursued by Japanese soldiers who are unaware that World War II ended more than twenty years earlier.
S1 E3 – Survival: The Seaspray makes landfall on Fiji near a vast Copra plantation. The Wells family hears a native boy cry for help. When they investigate, they learn that the crooked plantation manager has imprisoned the owner and forced the local tribesmen to work as slaves. Before they can leave to notify the authorities, Captain Wells and his sons are captured and forced to join the other workers.
S1 E4 – Battle of Copra Island : The Fijian police warn Captain Wells that bank robbers may try to use the Seaspray to escape. Later, Wells is attacked by thugs, but a tourist comes to his aid. In gratitude, Wells offers the man and his wife passage off the island. Too late, Wells discovers that these are the thieves for whom the police are searching.
S1 E5 – Stalemate: While shopping in a Fijian town, the Wells children visit a fortune teller who warns them to beware of danger that lurks everywhere. When later the family explore and become lost on a deserted island they discover that deadly World War II booby traps planted there by the Nazis are still operational and ready to snare unwary passersby.
S1 E6 – Trapped:The native chief of a remote Fijian island warns Captain Wells that the tribe’s witch doctor has fallen under the influence of a crook who plans to plunder the island’s mineral deposits.
S1 E7 – The Power of Davu: While climbing a glacier in New Zealand, the crew of the Seaspray stumbled upon a badly injured man. Leaving Mike and Sue to care for the victim, Willyum and Captain Wells head down the mountain for help, but the man turns out to be a criminal who is not as wounded as he appears and takes both teenagers hostage.
S1 E8 – The Hostages: The Wells family is visiting a gold mine in Fiji when Willyum witnesses two men robbing the mine’s manager.
S1 E9 – The Hunt: Captain Wells agrees to take an elderly Oriental man on as a passenger but becomes concerned when the man refuses to discuss the reason for his journey or his mysterious cargo.
S1 E10 – Smuggled Cargo: While visiting New Zealand, the Wells family gets involved with a gang of horse thieves.
S1 E11 – The Switch: Intrigued by reports that an isolated island along their route is haunted, the Seaspray crew decides to investigate. While walking along a jungle path, they hear moans, groans, and shrieks that cannot be accounted for.
S1 E12 – The Haunted Island: Captain Wells agrees to ship a seemingly harmless cargo of coconuts, only to discover that a rival captain has created a monopoly shipping the products and will brook no interlopers. The Seaspray narrowly escapes destruction when one of the coconuts in the hold turns out to contain a bomb.
S1 E13 – The Loaded Coconut: The Seaspray crew receives a decidedly unfriendly reception when they attempt to visit a small New Zealand fishing village on Bareknuckle Bay.
S1 E14 – Bareknuckle Bay: Captain Wells finds an old man hiding on board the Seaspray. An animal lover, he’s been taking potshots at loggers whom he believes are ruining his friends’ habitat and now the loggers are out for revenge.
S1 E15 – The Fugitive: The crew of the Seaspray attempt to foil the kidnapping of a famous scientist off a yacht by a gang using a submarine.
S1 E16 – Monster of Tauro: The crew of the Seaspray encounters a missionary who believes in spreading the Gospel with the muzzle of her rifle.
S1 E17 – Treasure of Ruala: While visiting New Guinea, the crew of the Seaspray go exploring and nearly have a fatal adventure.
S1 E18 – Cave of Death: After the Seaspray docks in Sydney, Australia, Mike and Sue Wells immediately head for Bondi Beach to learn how to surf. Their pretty instructor turns out to be part of a gang responsible for stealing a valuable art collection.
S1 E19 – The Surfers: After celebrating Sue’s birthday in a coastal New Guinea town, the Wells family returns to the Seaspray and finds it occupied by a large man and his two unsavory companions who insist they own the boat – and have the papers to prove it.
S1 E20 – Three Mile Limit: Captain Wells discovers his old friend, the skipper of a rival schooner, has contracted a deadly tropical disease which he has spread among the natives with whom he has done business.
S1 E21 – Evil Spirit: The Seaspray’s crew finds a strange-looking capsule floating in the ocean. Captain Wells discovers it was an orbiting camera recently fallen to earth and also learns that enemy agents are searching for the device.
S1 E22 – Sky Spy: The crew of the Seaspray tries to prevent a “payback murder” where one tribe kills a member of another whenever one of its members dies for any reason.
S1 E23 – The Death Dancers: The Seaspray crew was looking forward to their New Zealand trout-fishing holiday until they discover that pollution has killed all the trout. Captain Wells believes the fish kill was caused by indiscriminate crop dusting by a fleet of planes owned by Clint Hardin.
S1 E24 – Rain of Death: While in New Guinea waters, Captain Wells spots a column of smoke from a remote island that he interprets as a distress signal. Upon investigation, Wells and the Seaspray crew discover that a pair of white men searching for gold are forcing the natives to assist them by means of their magic tricks.
S1 E25 – Deadly Magic: When Mike discovers an oyster bed that yields enormous pearls, his activities attract the attention of a deadly gang of pearl thieves.
S1 E26 – Dangerous Waters: While battling a storm near the coast of New Guinea, the crew of the Seaspray receives a distress signal and sails to the rescue.
S1 E27 – Shipwrecked: While visiting the farm of an old family friend, Sue Wells goes exploring and discovers a dying prospector in a remote cabin. The old man entrusts Sue with a note for a “Miss Daisy” and a valuable sapphire that he wants her to deliver for him.
S1 E28 – The Black Sapphire: The Melbourne police ask Captain Wells to make excuses to delay sailing after a man charters the Seaspray to take him to Fiji.
S1 E29 – A Strange Charter: The crew of the Seaspray attempts to help a female sheep rancher whose neighbor is trying to force her to sell her farm by using crooked business tactics.
S1 E30 – The Dangerous Trek: While cruising off the coast of New South Wales, the Seaspray crew picks up a strange bundle, which turns out to be counterfeit money. The counterfeiting gang wants to get their funny money back and isn’t too concerned about shedding some blood to do.
S1 E31 – A Deadly Game: Captain Wells and his family fish a man out of the Melbourne, Australia harbor. He claims that enemy agents are after him and he requests political asylum. In actuality, he’s a jewel thief who double-crossed his partners and now both the police and his former accomplices are searching for him.
S1 E32 – Doublecross: The Wells family discovers an uncharted island. While exploring its interior, they are captured by descendants of The HMS Bounty’s mutineers who insist that the Seaspray’s crew remain on the island so their whereabouts will remain a secret. When Dan Wells attempts to escape, he and his companions are sentenced to death by the islanders’ tribunal.

This guide is based on over a decade of research and firsthand experience living in Fiji. It incorporates extensive knowledge gained through long-term residence and ongoing engagement with the region. Images and text have been sourced from official references, which are acknowledged below, to ensure accuracy and comprehensiveness.