Terry Pratchett's The Watch to film in South Africa

BBC America’s forthcoming adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s City Watch subset of Discworld books is set to film in Cape Town later this year.

The Watch is produced by BBC Studios and will be delivered to the network as an 8 x 60 drama, written by Simon Allen and executive produced by Hilary Salmon and Ben Donald for BBC Studios alongside Rob Wilkins for Narrativia, the production company founded by Pratchett in 2012.

Salmon said of the project, described as a ‘punk rock thriller’: “The Watch is a distinctly British but defiantly global exhilarating, thriller that is disruptive in its approach to the fantasy genre and also big on the themes of mortality, inclusion, alternative facts and justice.

“It’s a dizzying riot of hope, joy, suspense and audaciously dark humour. We can’t wait to work with BBC America to bring it all to life for existing fans and brand new audiences.”

South Africa is one of the southern hemisphere's top production hubs; its film-friendly profile was raised further recently by Netflix backing two new original dramas.

The country offers a base 25% filming incentive, rising to 30% for productions that also do post work there.