One of the BBC's most reliable exports is swapping palm trees for pine forests and pebble coves. Death in Paradise, the murder-mystery series that has aired in more than 230 territories since 2011, is getting its first international adaptation — and it's set on the Croatian island of Brač.
The Croatian-language version will be called Ubojstvo u raju (literally Murder in Paradise) and consists of six one-hour episodes for national broadcaster HRT. The news was announced by BBC Studios chief executive Zai Bennett at MIPCOM, the big television industry fair. Filming is pencilled in for spring 2027, with production based in and around Supetar, Brač's ferry-port main town. Expect the familiar formula — an outsider detective solving a death a week — but with characters and stories drawn from life on a real Adriatic island.
CGM Films is producing, with Bruno Mustić and Ivan Lovreček (who already teamed up on the Croatian remake of Skam) at the helm and Jelena Gavrilović directing. Scripts come from Sonja Tarokić and Valentina Batalić. Casting and air date are still under wraps, so there's a wait ahead.
Why does this matter if you're not a TV executive? Because television quietly reshapes travel maps. Death in Paradise turned Guadeloupe into a pilgrimage spot for British holidaymakers, and spin-offs Beyond Paradise and Return to Paradise have done the same for Devon and Australia. Brač — already loved for Zlatni Rat's windsurfing beach, the stone of Diocletian's Palace, and a slower rhythm than nearby Hvar — is about to get its close-up for millions of viewers who may never have considered Croatia beyond Dubrovnik.
For travellers, the timing is actually handy. If the show lands in 2027 or 2028, you can beat the fan trail by visiting now: wander Supetar's harbour, drive the winding road up to Vidova Gora (the highest island peak in the Adriatic), or island-hop to Split, which sits just across the channel with frequent ferries. Come filming time, you may even catch crews at work — though there's no word yet on whether extras will be recruited.
For now, the practical takeaway is simple: Brač remains one of the Dalmatian coast's more low-key islands, and spring — precisely when the cameras roll — is a lovely, crowd-free time to see it before the series makes Supetar a household name.
