Where was The Death of Bunny Munro filmed?

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Sky Atlantic and NOW are now showing a live-action adaptation of ‘The Death of Bunny Munro’, a dramatic story set along England’s southern coast.

This miniseries features Matt Smith as a traveling salesman who, following a difficult personal loss in the early 2000s, unexpectedly takes his nine-year-old son on a road trip.

It’s not all happiness for Bunny and his son, Bunny Jr. (played by Rafael Mathé), as they’re both dealing with intense sadness. The older Bunny tries to cope with this by turning to unhealthy habits, but it’s only a temporary and ultimately damaging solution.

Based on Nick Cave’s novel, The Death of Bunny Munro is set in a city he knows intimately, capturing both its charm and its grit. Here, he explains his reasons for choosing this particular setting for his unique story.

Where is The Death of Bunny Munro filmed?

Most of the movie The Death of Bunny Munro was filmed in Brighton and Hove, and other parts of Sussex.

Nick Cave, an Australian author and musician, lived in the city by the coast for about twenty years. He left soon after the heartbreaking loss of his 15-year-old son.

At the London Literature Festival, Nick Cave shared why he chose Brighton as the location for his novel. He noted that, unfortunately or poetically, there are many melancholic seaside towns in England.

While the story could have taken place anywhere, I chose Brighton because I knew it well. It’s a beautiful and surprisingly cheerful town, but it also has a subtle, darker side to it.

In an interview with Condé Nast Traveller, chef Dave Cave described a grittier side of Brighton. He remembered early in his career, after periods of drug use in London, staying in inexpensive and rundown hotels there as part of his recovery process.

He described renting run-down, cheap hotels in Brighton that were often used for casual encounters, featuring things like mirrored ceilings and heart-shaped beds. He used stronger language to emphasize how tawdry they were.

I’d often spend a few days recovering there, just trying to regain my strength. Brighton used to have a bit of a rough edge, but I think that’s mostly disappeared now.

The novel, set in 2003, captures a specific moment in Brighton’s past, even including the real-life fire that destroyed part of the West Pier as a key event at the story’s beginning.

Regarding that part of the story, Nick Cave explained that two strong images kept appearing as he wrote. He felt both images were memorable and held deeper symbolic meaning.

First, the West Pier burned down. Then, Kylie Minogue’s iconic gold hot pants from the ‘Spinning Around’ music video appeared. For some reason, these two events felt linked together.

I noticed a strange connection between the two things, and it made me think about how societies sometimes fall apart. I actually witnessed a pier being destroyed by fire, so it was already on my mind a lot.

Bunny and his son, Rafael Mathé, traveled around Sussex to film scenes for the show, moving beyond their initial location of Brighton to include Worthing, Eastbourne, and Shoreham-by-Sea. (Source: Kent Live)

Matt Smith, known for his role in ‘Bunny Munro,’ recently shared with Condé Nast that the area where they filmed is one of the few places outside of London he’d consider living. He particularly enjoyed filming on the Downs, describing the experience as amazing.

It’s strange, but we kind of became a well-known part of Brighton. People would often say, ‘Oh, there’s the group doing the Bunny show!’

The Death of Bunny Munro is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW from Thursday 20th November 2025.

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2025-11-20 11:11