Forest City, Malaysia’s China-backed US$100 billion ghost town, becomes set for Netflix shows

Forest City, Malaysia’s China-backed US$100 billion mega-complex ghost city, is now serving as a set for a handful of Netflix productions

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Malaysia’s US$100 billion China-backed ghost city was meant to house 700,000 people, Now, the mega-development is serving as a set for a handful of reality shows and documentaries. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:31pm, 2 Jul 2024Updated: 6:04pm, 3 Jul 2024

Malaysia’s US$100 billion China-backed ghost city was meant to house 700,000 people. After few people moved in, developers tried in vain to make it into a tourist hub.

Now, the mega-development is serving as a set for a handful of reality shows and documentaries.

The empty city, just over Singapore’s western border, was used for an episode on the second season of Netflix reality show The Mole, which debuted last week.

The competition-style reality series follows 12 contestants completing challenges while one of them secretly sabotages the other players. They race to grow a money pot prize and uncover who the traitor is among them.

The show’s 10-episode second season was filmed entirely in Malaysia and features Forest City, Kuala Lumpur, and Tioman Island. Filming started in July 2023 and lasted for six weeks, according to local media.

A welcome sign stands at a roundabout in front of residential flats in Chinese developer Country Garden’s Forest City in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Photo: EPA-EFE

The contestants, who come from various professional backgrounds, complete treasure hunts, free dive, and abseil down a 38-storey building in Forest City.