Filmed in Tasmania and based on the successful overseas format, The Bridge will see a group of strangers come together in a cabin deep in Tasmania’s wilderness. The way out is to work together to build a 330 metre-long bridge in just 17 days, with $250,000 up for grabs.
Streaming exclusively on Paramount+, the team worked with Endemol Shine Australia to see 12 Australians build – and cross – a bridge from scratch.
Mediaweek spoke to Paramount ANZ EP Sarah Thornton ahead of the Paramount+ premiere on August 19th.
Sarah Thornton
The Bridge is the first reality competition show that has been released for Paramout+ rather than Channel 10. With this in mind during production, Thornton says that the team’s approach was “incredibly different.”
“It’s been this odd fusion of quite small, factual, early days reality production where there’s less producer intervention and a more authentic experience for the participants. Then there’s the camera technology that enables us to shoot it in a way that’s incredibly beautiful and filmic. There is also playing with things like chronology in the edit, and bringing in the theme music – I think that has just elevated it in a way that I’m really excited about.”
The Bridge is an existing format overseas, but it’s a brand new concept for Australian TV. When asked what the secret is to building a show like The Bridge in the Australian market, Thornton says it all comes down to working with a great team.
“This show existed in the UK, and there was a Brazilian version that had been made before we went into production – but our version is vastly different from theirs, and that is a testament to the team who put it together.
“It’s about being incredibly forensic about what works for Australia and why, and how you then apply it to these formats.”
Narrating The Bridge is a voice that viewers will recognise – Australian actor Hugo Weaving.
“We really wanted a voice with gravitas that was distinctly Australian, that was reflective of the character of the Bridge and the Beacon in the show – because they come out as these strong characters within the storytelling,” says Thornton.
“Hugo was just the perfect fit, and we honestly could not believe our eyes when we saw that he’d agreed to do it. I think I might have screeched over the phone!”
Hugo Weaving
Taking place in the picturesque Tasmanian wilderness, the setting of The Bridge is almost as important as the action going on within it.
“There is something so romantic about Tasmania. I don’t think we hero these unusual and visually beautiful locations enough in Australia.”
However, Thornton says that setting up a brand new filming location in the middle of nowhere was never going to be easy.
“The location that we used didn’t have the building in it, it didn’t have the pulley system that they used to cross the water. It really was a very basic location that we had to come into and turn into this world. The team worked incredibly hard to build something that felt authentic to the place – the people who manage the land are actually going to keep the structure, which is nice.”
Then, of course, there were the elements to battle against.
“There was the issue of water levels going up and down constantly that we had to work around. It was a really remote location – we had a big crew to bring in and we needed internet, etc. We also had to get all those logs there!
“We worked incredibly closely with the local bodies in Tasmania and other local companies to do it all in a way that was really sympathetic to the environment.”
The Bridge builders
Whilst the concept of The Bridge is simple, the actual reality of building a 330m bridge is anything but. Thornton says the crew breathed a quiet sigh of relief when the builders achieved their goal.
“We were standing on the edge on several key occasions, just wondering if they were going to get to the end. Even on the last day, it was really tight.
“They did terribly at the beginning, they were appalling! The first few rafts that they put in would not have held up for the duration of the walk across the bridge if they’d all been like that. They were slow, they were arguing with themselves about how to do it. But it really is a testament to the human spirit that they worked it out.”