Screenwriter Kristen Dunphy said she wanted to "use nature to show connection and disconnection with mental illness" in the drama Wakefield.
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The ABC series was filmed partly in the Southern Highlands, giving viewers the chance to catch sight of familiar places.
Ms Dunphy said both the region, as well as locations in the Blue Mountains, provided the opportunity to illustrate different aspects of mental health.
"We were showing the internal landscape with external lands," she said.
"The connections can be quite powerful and dramatic."
The show follows the journeys of patients who have been admitted to a psychiatric facility, and psychiatric nurse Nikil Katira.
Ms Dunphy said she drew on her experiences in psychiatric hospitals whilst writing the show.
"There is a little bit of me in lots of the characters and situations," she said.
Scenes were captured across Bundanoon, Moss Vale and Fitzroy Falls.
"There is something beautiful about the Southern Highlands," director of photography Martin McGrath said.
"It has a layering to it. It evokes the mind, the complexities of emotions and feelings."
"There is a restful air, and beautiful calmness that everyone craves."
Bundanoon was transformed into the fictional suburb Lawson Falls.
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"There is an idyllic train station, bookshops, coffee shops. It is evocative of an older era," Mr McGrath said.
However, filming faced obstacles in Bundanoon.
"We were in Bundanoon at the tail end of the fires," Mr McGrath added.
"The state government and fire brigade were in the main street.
"We could hardly see the platform. We had to wear masks because of the smoke."
"It was scary in the bushfires. We thought the station was burnt down," Ms Dunphy added.
"We have an incredible scene on Teudts Road where we use special effects to give the impression of a character's imagination, and he turns into the black stumps."
Despite the dangers and devastations of the fires across the state, the blackened backdrop became a pivotal part of the storyline.
"Lands burnt in the bushfires were used to reflect the inner mind of a depressed patient," Ms Dunphy said.
"We wanted to ask what can the natural environment say about the subject, and how does it encroach on the facility and the people in it?"
"How do they impact the environment?"
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