'Apples Never Fall,' set but not filmed in Palm Beach, premieres on Peacock TV

A new TV series that premieres this week is set in West Palm Beach and Palm Beach and features some shots of the area — while the series was filmed in Australia.

"Apples Never Fall," based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty, premieres March 14 on Peacock.

Though the series is set in the Palm Beaches, it was shot in Queensland, Australia.

Past Coverage: Palm Beach says no to filming TV series starring Annette Bening, Sam Neill on the island

The book is set in Sydney, Australia — author Moriarty is Australian and all of her books are set there — but showrunner and executive producer Melanie Marnich said she moved the action to South Florida because it is a hub for competitive tennis training, which sits at the center of the plot.

The show features a couple, Stan and Joy Delaney (Sam Neill and Annette Bening), who retire from their successful Delaney Tennis Academy. In the first episode, Joy disappears, sending her four children (Alison Brie, Jake Lacy, Conor Merrigan-Turner and Essie Randles) searching for answers.

"Through the wonders of production design, we created West Palm Beach," Marnich said in show notes.

There are a few local details that stand out in the first episode: At the Delaneys' retirement party, they're presented with an appreciation award, "In recognition of 35 years of outstanding coaching and continued service to the West Palm community."

The Delaneys' daughter, Brooke (played by Randles), tells her parents during a family dinner that she started writing "a weekly fitness column for The Post," seemingly a nod to The Palm Beach Post.

Toward the end of the first episode, Stan is approached by a pair of Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office detectives who are investigating his wife's disappearance.

The choice to film on Australia's Gold Coast instead of Florida's Gold Coast was not without some effort to shoot in South Florida.

The production requested a permit last year to film in Palm Beach for a few days in July, but that was denied by the Town Council.

In voting to deny the permit application, council members shared concerns about traffic congestion and onlookers drawn to the town by the production.

"I hear from our residents, regardless of what we're dealing with, about too much going on, and how do we control the influx of people," council member Ted Cooney said during the April 3 meeting. "Visitors are overwhelming our quiet little town. As much as I love the movies and know our town would be a beautiful setting for any sort of filming, we're on the map more than we want to be. I think most residents are asking all of us for quiet and less interruption."

The scenes filmed in Palm Beach would have included Bening's character joyriding her bike through the town. The route would have taken her past houses along the ocean, next to Midtown Beach, past the Worth Avenue clock tower and Worth Avenue, down State Road A1A near The Colony Hotel, along South Lake Drive along the town docks, and across the Royal Park Bridge into West Palm Beach, said Leah Sokolowski, the supervising location manager for the production who presented the permit application to the council.

The ride through Palm Beach represents what Joy and Stan Delaney have been searching for in their lives, Sokolowski told the council. "To them, Palm Beach represents success. It represents achievement. It represents a paradise," she said at the time.

The first episode of the series released on Peacock on Thursday opens with Bening's character Joy Delaney riding her bike along quiet streets that could be in Palm Beach.

The Palm Beach County Film and Television Commission worked with "Apples Never Fall," Film Commissioner Michelle Hillery said in an email to Palm Beach Daily News.

"The show features numerous locations in West Palm Beach including the Intracoastal Waterway, downtown cityscape and both the Royal Park and Flagler Memorial Bridge," she wrote.

In the application submitted to Palm Beach, filming would have included stationary and moving cameras, a drone, and possibly a camera on a crane or dolly.

The show was adapted for TV by Marnich and fellow executive producer David Heyman of Heyday Television. Heyman is a British producer known for his work producing the Harry Potter films.

The full seven-episode season of "Apples Never Fall" is streaming now on Peacock.

Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at kwebb@pbdailynews.com. Subscribe today to support our journalism.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Show set in Palm Beaches, starring Annette Bening, Sam Neill premieres