Television Series
Cowboy Bebop
2021
Filmed In
Auckland
Towns & Areas
East Tāmaki studio base · locations across Auckland city, including St Matthew-in-the-City and Waitawa Regional Park
The Story
The stylish, live-action adaptation of the legendary Japanese anime series. This space-western follows a ragtag group of bounty hunters as they chase down the solar system's most dangerous criminals while trying to outrun their own dark pasts.
The Stars
John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, and Daniella Pineda. This ensemble anchors the show's blend of noir tone and stylised action across its New Zealand-built sets.
Behind the Lens
Developed by André Nemec. Nemec worked from the original 1998 anime's premise, adapting it for a live-action, English-language audience.
Why NZ?
The production team needed an array of diverse, retro-futuristic urban backdrops. They built massive, intricate city sets across various sound stages and industrial warehouses in East Auckland, blending physical New Zealand locations with high-tech digital enhancement. The result blurs the line between built set and real cityscape closely enough that longtime Auckland residents have spotted their own streets in the finished show. The blend of built sets and real locations gave the show a texture rarely achieved on a single-season budget.
On Set
John Cho spent roughly 18 months based in New Zealand through the COVID period for this production, and tore his ACL just nine days into filming — a setback that significantly extended the shoot. The finished sets blurred the line between backlot and genuine cityscape more than most viewers realised.
Legacy
Adapted from the influential Japanese anime series, the live-action version was cancelled by Netflix after a single season despite the strong following of its source material.
Full in depth information, stories, anecdotes and fascinating facts of every movie in the regional guides.
Get The Full Guide
Secure Your Founding Member Access All 10 Region Guides, All 45 Movies