Where was The Last Bus filmed? Filming locations in Bristol for Netflix action sci-fi with Robert Sheehan

It’s been a busy year for Bristol when it comes to the big screen, with numerous TV shows from The Girl Before to Showtrial and Chloe having been filmed and set here over the last twelve months. But it seems that the centre-stage role is not over yet for the city with a new Netflix series The Last Bus, which was both filmed in and pioneered by a Bristol company, coming to our screens in April.

The Last Bus is an ​​action-packed new live-action sci-fi Netflix Original series starring Robert Sheehan of Misfits fame, Tom Basden of After Life fame, and a cast of young talented new actors, including Bristol-based Phoebe De Silva. Produced by the award-winning creative studio Wildseed Studios, which is based in the centre of Bristol, the announcement and making of the series showcases their commitment to finding new talent.

Wildseed Studios has pioneered a unique approach to nurturing exciting new talent by identifying promising creatives, working intensively with them in development, before then piloting their ideas and pitching the resulting work into premium platforms including Netflix, Disney+, Sky Kids, BBC3, CBBC and many more.

The Last Bus looks set to launch the career of 18-year-old Phoebe De Silva, who was discovered from a school search of thousands of young people for their first acting role. It also features rapidly-rising stars Lauryn Ajufo and Moosa Mostafa, as well as being created and written by Paul Neafcy, who was spotted by Wildseed making mobile phone films on YouTube from his bedroom.

Staying true to Wildseed’s core mission to discover new talent, the series also features burgeoning directors Drew Casson and Nour Wazzi.

"When we established Wildseed, our vision was to become the leading destination for promising talent looking to get their break into scripted primetime and The Last Bus truly validates what we set out to do,” says Wildseed’s Managing Director, Miles Bullough. “We’re hugely excited to be launching a Netflix Original series with such a wealth of new and upcoming talent discovered and developed by our team."

With so many talented Bristol links, it’s not surprising to hear that the series was also filmed at Bottle Yard Studios on Whitchurch Lane, one of the largest British film and television production studio facilities in the south west.

So, as well as being filmed at a local studio, which Bristol locations can you expect to spot in the series? The easiest, and perhaps most famous, Bristol landscape for you to keep your eyes peeled for is The Downs, which features across the series.

You’ll also be able to see Redcliffe Caves, a series of man-made tunnels beneath the Redcliffe area of Bristol. Less well known as a location than The Downs, the Caves are famous for their Triassic red sandstone which was dug into in the Middle ages to provide sand for glass making and pottery production.

Other locations to look out for across the south west include the iconic Cheddar Gorge, Brean Leisure Park, Wookey Hole in Somerset and the Eden Project in Cornwall.

And when it comes to the plot, what can people expect? In true sci-fi style, the new show follows a group of mismatched students on a school trip who become unlikely heroes when a robot apocalypse zaps away the rest of humanity. Packed with comedy, heart, adventure and mystery, the 10 episodes present an eco-fable for the whole family to watch together.

Wildseed’s creative director and co-founder Jesse Cleverly, says: "Although at the top level The Last Bus is a shamelessly entertaining sci-fi romp that will entertain the whole family, at another level it is a powerful eco-fable about how the younger generation must be empowered to make very different choices from the generation that preceded it when it comes to the two big challenges of the age - environmental breakdown and hugely sophisticated artificial intelligence."