Perched on the edge of the King Sound in Western Australia’s Far North, the Kimberley town of Derby is stunning audiences as the backdrop for the Stan Original Series, comedy crime thriller Population 11.

Derby is home to the largest tidal movements in the southern hemisphere. These extreme tides create the most extraordinary phenomenon, the Horizontal Waterfalls of Talbot Bay. Massive volumes of water squeeze through narrow cliff passages, with the rapid-like formations creating the unique horizontal waterfall effect.

Located north west of Derby are the tiny islands of the Buccaneer Archipelago with secluded beaches and fringes of mangroves set against a bright turquoise tropical sea.

Production company Jungle Entertainment scouted for locations throughout Western Australia before being wowed by Derby, a town of approximately 4,000 people. With its Boab trees, mangroves and sprawling salt marshes, Derby proved incredibly cinematic.

“If you want something that is dramatic, beautiful, emotional and incredible to look at – that’s where you go to shoot.”

Population 11 star Ben Feldman (Superstore, Mad Men [Emmy® nominee], Silicon Valley).

The outback town leaned into the broody and at times quirky atmosphere of the show and became a character in itself. Creator and Showrunner Phil Lloyd discovered that the Derby mudflats “are like another planet, there are wrecked cars out there and a vast desert of flaking mud. It’s a brilliant landscape”.

The cast, creatives and crew speak about the incredible experience of the production in Derby:

The release of Population 11 follows a bumper year for scripted film and TV production in regional Western Australia, with projects including The Surfer, Invisible Boys, Runt, The Twelve, We Bury the Dead and the upcoming Red Rock Run and season two of Scrublands all taking advantage of the State’s vast locations.

Amanda Duthie – Head of Originals at Stan has found “the diversity and the richness, the deep cultural connection that is so evident in so many areas and regions in Western Australia just means that you are not just making a fabulous show but gaining a really incredible life experience being able to work in those places. When you are shopping your project around Australia it is absolutely imperative that you should come and see what is available here.”

Population 11 is currently available to stream on Stan.

Derby and the Kimberley region are just one of the many stunning filming locations on offer in Western Australia. Combined with outstanding production incentives, and post-production and VFX companies, Western Australia is the perfect location to tell your story.