Filming of the series began this Tuesday at Richmond, to Sydney’s north-west, with producers going to great expense to do up the suburb’s streets to resemble Griffith in the 1970s.

The first scene filmed was a political rally featuring The Flying Doctors actor Andrew McFarlane playing anti-drugs campaigner Donald Mackay.

When The Area News reported the new series would be based on Griffith’s shady mafia past, it was revealed the Griffith scenes would be filmed using “cheats” in Sydney.

But while the producers of the show have skimped on the location, they have made a clear effort in set design, including fitting out a vacant Richmond shop to look like Donald Mackay’s furniture store. A major street in Richmond has been cleared of all but cars from the ’70s, with 50 extras dressed up in flared pants and other ’70s attire.

With all the effort the producers have made to make Richmond look like Griffith, Councillor Allan Bennett said they probably weren’t game enough to come to the city.

“I doubt they’d get much co-operation, because Griffith’s a pretty proud community,” he said. “There will be a certain amount of fact in it, but a lot more anti-fact.”

But after years as a tourism operator, Cr Bennett said he believed the series will be bad for Griffith’s tourism.

“We work very hard to attract tourism to Griffith, and I don’t think a program like that is going to do a damn thing,” he said. “We’re not the only town in Australia where bad things have happened.”

Tuesday’s filming consisted of the anti-drugs rally, with Mr McFarlane delivering his lines in front of a banner reading “Griffith says no to drugs”.

Also making an appearance at the filming was The Dish star Roy Billing, in his role as mafia kingpin Robert Trimbole, and controversial actor Matthew Newton, who plays drug smuggler Terry “Mr Asia” Clark.