BBC Studios' Death in Paradise Format Heads to Croatia as Murder in Paradise Begins Pre-Production

A landmark moment for European television is quietly taking shape on the Adriatic coast. Murder in Paradise, known in Croatian as Ubojstvo u raju, has entered pre-production as the first-ever international adaptation of the BBC's globally beloved crime format Death in Paradise. Produced by CGM Films for Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT), the six-episode series will transplant the format's signature mix of sun-drenched scenery, wry humor, and knotty murder mysteries to a fictional island community on the Croatian coast. With principal photography not scheduled until spring 2027, this is an early-stage opportunity for professionals to get on the radar of a production that carries genuine international pedigree and the weight of a first-of-its-kind format deal.

Director Jelena Gavrilović leads the project creatively. A respected figure in Croatian film and television, Gavrilović brings a sensibility well-suited to character-driven drama with regional authenticity at its core. The scripts are being developed by screenwriters Sonja Tarokić and Valentina Batalić, who are adapting the BBC format for Croatian audiences while preserving the original show's defining qualities: closed-community mystery setups, a fish-out-of-water detective dynamic, and a lightness of tone that keeps the procedural format genuinely entertaining. The writing team's task is a delicate one, threading the needle between format fidelity and local cultural specificity, and the producers appear to have assembled a team with the right instincts for that challenge.

The producing team of Bruno Mustić and Ivan Lovreček, working through CGM Films, is a known quantity in the Croatian television landscape. The two previously collaborated on Sram, a well-regarded HRT drama series, which means this team arrives with an established working relationship and a demonstrated ability to deliver quality primetime content for the same broadcaster. That continuity matters on a production like this, where trust between producers and their commissioning network is essential. CGM Films operates as an independent production company within the Croatian market, and their partnership with HRT on this adaptation speaks to the broadcaster's ambition to bring internationally recognized formats to domestic audiences at a meaningful production level.

The studio backing here is significant. BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC responsible for licensing and distributing the corporation's intellectual property globally, has selected this project as the very first international format sale of Death in Paradise. That distinction is not incidental. It reflects BBC Studios' confidence in both the Croatian team and in the format's adaptability beyond its original Caribbean setting. Death in Paradise, which has aired on BBC One since 2011 and spawned a spinoff series Beyond Paradise, is one of the BBC's most consistently popular exports, with strong ratings across Europe and a loyal international fanbase. HRT1, Croatia's primary national public television channel, will broadcast the completed series in primetime, positioning Murder in Paradise as a flagship production for the network.

Filming will take place on the island of Brač, one of the largest islands in the Adriatic and one of the most visually distinctive in all of Dalmatia. The production will base out of Supetar, the island's main town and ferry hub, located on Brač's northern coast directly across the water from Split. For crew, this means a logistical reality worth understanding early: Supetar is accessible primarily by ferry from Split, which is the region's major urban center and transportation hub. Split itself has a growing film production infrastructure, and Croatia more broadly has been attracting international productions for years thanks to its dramatic coastal and island scenery, its relatively affordable production costs compared to Western European markets, and the Croatian Audiovisual Centre's incentive programs, which offer cash rebates on qualifying local expenditure. Productions shooting in Croatia can access rebates of up to 25 percent on eligible costs, a meaningful driver for productions of this scale.

Brač is not a major established production hub in the way that Zagreb or Split are, which means the physical and logistical demands of island filming will be a defining characteristic of this shoot. A strong locations department will be essential from early in the process, as will experienced production management capable of coordinating ferry schedules, equipment transport, and crew accommodation on an island where infrastructure is built around tourism rather than film production. The island's landscapes, white stone beaches, and Mediterranean architecture are exactly what the format demands visually, but capturing them at series scale requires serious planning. Department heads across art, wardrobe, and camera who have experience with remote or location-heavy European productions will be particularly well-positioned for this one.

With principal photography still roughly two years out, the production is firmly in its early development and pre-production phase. Right now, that means writers, format consultants, and senior producers are the primary activity. However, given the scale of the project and the logistical complexity of island shooting, department heads in locations, production design, and production management would be wise to make contact well in advance of any formal staffing push. The production is commissioned for primetime on HRT1 as a six-episode series, which suggests a budget commensurate with a flagship public broadcaster commitment, and the BBC Studios format license adds an additional layer of international accountability to the production's quality standards. Full listing details, production contacts, and scheduling updates are available now on ProductionList.com, where you can bookmark this production and stay current as the staffing timeline develops ahead of the spring 2027 shoot.

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