Netflix's God's Favorite Idiot, starring Melissa McCarthy, to film in Australia

Netflix’s comedy series God’s Favorite Idiot, produced by and starring Melissa McCarthy and her husband Ben Falcone, is set to shoot in New South Wales, Australia.

The show is a workplace comedy about a mid-level tech support employee Clark Thompson (Falcone) who finds love with co-worker Amily Luck (McCarthy) at exactly the same time he becomes the unwitting messenger of God.

McCarthy has been living in Byron Bay with her family over the past few months after filming wrapped on Hulu mini-series, Nine Perfect Strangers.

“To have the opportunity to safely film our show in a beautiful country like Australia is a dream come true,” the couple said in a statement.

God’s Favorite Idiot will receive a A$10m grant from the Australian federal government’s A$540m Location Incentive program and is expected to employ more than 300 local cast and crew.

“God’s Favorite Idiot will continue the pipeline of Netflix productions being made in Australia with support from the government’s Location Incentive, building on the success of Clickbait, Escape from Spiderhead and Pieces of Her,” said Paul Fletcher, minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts.

“These global productions continue to provide opportunities for the Australian screen industry. With the excellent reputation of our cast and crew, complemented by Australia’s careful management of COVID-19, the Location Incentive is generating return business that is growing and enhancing our sector.”

New South Wales Minister for the Arts, Don Harwin added: “I am delighted that NSW is the go-to destination to attract significant international productions. With support from our Made in NSW fund, this exciting new Netflix series will provide highly skilled jobs, bring significant expenditure into regional areas and will showcase our beautiful Northern Rivers area.”

God’s Favorite Idiot will also engage the services of approximately 1,000 Australian businesses, including screen industry vendors, construction, hotels, restaurants, and rental car services.