‘East of Eden’ Starring Florence Pugh Continues Filming in New Zealand; Series Aiming for Early 2026 Netflix Release

After months of preparation, filming kicked off in Oamaru, a town in the South Island of New Zealand, for Netflix’s ambitious new period drama series adapting John Steinbeck’s 1952 novel. 

The series is set in the Salinas Valley in California but has called New Zealand its production home since mid-October 2024, with production due to continue through the middle of March 2025. Per the New Zealand Herald, the series has been filmed across New Zealand, including a new stint of filming this month in Dunedin and Oamaru with “Key locations, including the Harbourside, Scottish Hall, and Ōamaru Squash and Badminton Club.”

According to The New Zealand Herald, the series aims for an “early 2026 release” on Netflix. Garth Davis will direct the first four episodes, and Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre will direct the final three. 

Filming for the series has been kept mostly under wraps, but this week, thanks to filming in public spaces, there’s been a deluge of first-look photos.

Local businesses in the town of Oamaru have been posting throughout the week, too. Art on the Thames posted their redesigned storefront, which has been remodeled as a sweet (candy for you Americans) shop. inc. Store, a concept store that curates “special edition works by independent creatives,” posted:

“NETFLIX FILMING in OAMARU

We often say we feel we’re living in a movie set – and it’s more frequently becoming a reality!
Visitors to our historic precinct area may notice some road closures and limited traffic access over the next week or two. Netflix are filming ‘East of Eden’ featuring Florence Pugh.

Although Itchen Street and some neighbouring streets & businesses may be closed to traffic on some days, and parking may seem a little more tricky than usual Oamaru standards, we don’t expect disruption to our business so please still pop in, we’re still open 7 days! Our part of town is best experienced on foot anyway! It’s all about traffic-noise and visual-streetscape management while filming takes place”

“Netflix is in town filming the remake of the John Steinbeck novel,” writes a user on Instagram, adding, “The whole of the harbour area has been overtaken by production vehicles.”

A few fantastic social media photographers have been freely sharing their behind-the-scenes photos of East of Eden. One who managed to snap Florence Pugh in full costume on set is Liz Cadogan (photos seen above and below). We highly encourage you to go and follow their account, as they have many photos we won’t post here.

Oamaru LIVE on Facebook is another fantastic account to follow for behind-the-scenes snaps and intel right now. On January 7th, they wrote, “I seriously underestimated the size of the film crew arriving in Oamaru to produce part of the Netflix series ‘East of Eden. ‘Trucks have filled the area to the rear of Scotts, machinery and trucks on Harbourside Park, and three other locations around town.”

They then posted a massive collection of photos (I highly encourage you to follow them and give them some love), with filming underway. On January 12th, they posted that filming was underway in Tyne St.

They wrote, “The action seemed centered around the Criterion Hotel, with camera gear through the windows and a working street scene in the background. The afternoon location was at the ‘shanty town’. On day two, they were mostly filming down Tyne St, another background, and later in the day a street parade. The shanty town looks to be transforming into a sawmill. A Traction Engine and numerous vintage cars have appeared.”

We’ve got more on East of Eden in our preview which we’ll keep updated over the coming months ahead of its eventual Netflix release. Are you excited for East of Eden on Netflix? Let us know in the comments down below.