There is a new IMDb page for Banished, but it has little information on it yet. Joseph tweeted about flying to Australia this week - Banished starts filming on Monday 7th April. More details about the production have been shared on this website. 

The lead director is Englishman Daniel Percival, who is directing the first three episodes which will shoot at Manly dam, assorted beaches and the Blue Mountains.

Australian Jeffrey Walker, who’s been based in Los Angeles for the past two years, will direct four episodes in a Manchester studio where all the interiors will be filmed- a challenge for the crew to match those scenes with the exteriors. Walker is also shooting exteriors here. The producers found Walker via a circuitous route. The sister of Williams' producer colleague Roxy Spencer, who lives in California, heard a radio interview with Guy Pearce. Guy raved about Walker, who directed him in the Jack Irish telemovies. Spencer duly did due diligence on Walker, tracked him down and they began discussing Banished.

The DoPs are the UK’s Steve Lawes (Sherlock) and Martin McGrath (Rake, Jake Irish, Killing Time). David Hirschfelder (The Railway Man, Shine, Baz Luhrmann’s Australia) is the composer.

The co-directors are collaborating to ensure the series has a seamless look and tone, described by Walker as a blend of “intimate and epic.” Percival said, “Jimmy has created this crucible of characters, convicts, the marines who guard them and the governor and his administration staff, people with a shared fate who have to negotiate survival every day in an alien environment.”

McGovern won’t come to Australia for the shoot but in pre-production he has been having long and frequent conversations- one went for five hours- with the directors, Williams and Spencer. “Jimmy is wonderful, very collaborative,” said Walker, who has directed episodes of Modern Family, Bones and Rebel Wilson’s Super Fun Night in the US. “He wants to hear ideas. If he decides to fix something he’ll send new pages the next day.”

If the series is rated as a success, Williams says there are plans for a second series.