Two Weeks in August may transport viewers to a dreamy Greek island filled with sunshine, secrets and simmering tensions, but the BBC drama wasn't actually filmed in Greece at all. Despite its Mediterranean backdrop, the new eight-part drama swapped the Aegean sea for Malta and Gozo.
Dubbed the "British White Lotus," thanks to its luxurious setting and spiralling drama, the series follows a group of old friends whose idyllic getaway turns into a nightmare after buried resentments and betrayals bubble up to the surface.
The drama stars Jessica Raine as Zoe, a teacher and mother who heads off on holiday with her husband Dan, portrayed by Damien Molony, alongside a group of long-time friends she's gradually drifted away from over the years.
But what begins as a relaxing reunion quickly implodes after an unexpected kiss threatens to destroy the group dynamic. Alongside Jessica and Damien, the cast includes familiar faces such as Nicholas Pinnock, Antonia Thomas, Leila Farzad and Hugh Skinner.
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Although the series is entirely set on a fictional Greek island, filming actually took place across Malta and its sister island Gozo throughout 2025, with support from local production company Pellikola.
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According to series creator Catherine Shepherd, Greece had originally been the first choice for filming. However, production ultimately opted for Malta due to cost - but it was no easy feat. Speaking to The Independent, Catherine explained that Gozo ended up being the perfect substitute because of its rugged landscapes.
"We had to go to Gozo to find a beach that really felt like it could be a harbour for a small island," she said. "It’s more complicated to film on Gozo because it’s so small and it involves the crew staying there, but we had to film some of the scenes there because it needed to look deserted." Gozo’s Dwerja cliffs, one of the island's most prominent landmarks located on the western coast, can be spotted in episode three.
Elsewhere, scenes featuring harbours and bustling local markets were filmed at Mgarr ix-Xini, a secluded inlet on Gozo known for its dramatic rocky coastline. A tavern featured throughout the drama was also filmed at Ghar Lapsi, a scenic Maltese bay popular with swimmers and snorkellers.
Perhaps the show's biggest surprise is that the luxurious villa at the centre of the drama wasn't a real property viewers can rent out for a holiday. Instead, production designers created much of it themselves.
The villa used in Two Weeks in August was assembled from several different locations, with a large extension specially constructed near the cliffs of southern Malta. Once filming wrapped, most of the structure was dismantled.
Catherine Shepherd shared that finding the right house proved difficult due to Maltese architecture. "The main challenge for the designer, Jon Henson, who is really amazing, was to find a house… the Maltese houses look quite distinctive in that beautiful sandstone, (but) they didn’t look so Greek," she said.
The team eventually found a small farmhouse that could serve as the base for the villa. But major alterations were still needed. "It was too small and it didn’t have a pool, so he put the pool in," Catherine recalled.
"It was an amazing feat of engineering. It was a really big job getting the villa right. But it’s all gone now. We had to deconstruct it, take down the swimming pool, take down the kitchen, and it’s all gone back to this little farmhouse."
While the series appears soaked in Mediterranean heat, filming conditions were far les luxurious than viewers might expect. Jessica Raine admitted the cast struggled with surprisingly cold temperatures during production. "We filmed at the beginning of March, and I’ve never been so cold in my entire life, and I’ve shot in Iceland," Jessica said.
The cast and crew had to get creative, by secretly layering up underneath their summer costumes. "There’s a birthday party scene we filmed early on where we’re all in summer clothes, but everyone’s secretly got thermals on underneath wherever they can fit them," remembered Jessica. "We were packed with hot water bottles."
Two Weeks in August airs this Saturday, 23 May, from 9pm on BBC One.
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