 Frank Spotnitz , Richard <unk> , Tony Saint and Simon Burke were contracted as the series writers , while Alex Holmes , Bill Eagles , Paul <unk> and Daniel Percival serve as the series directors . Andy Harries and Elaine Pyke were the show 's executive producers , with Percival and Spotnitz working as Co @-@ Executive Producers . In addition , Michael Casey , Trevor Hopkins and Sue De Beauvoir were the series producers , with Bill Shepard serving as co @-@ producer . Spotnitz wrote the first episodes . He was approached to write for the series because the producers needed somebody to reimagine the show as Armitage was committed to The Hobbit in New Zealand , by introducing two new leads . Spotnitz described the process ; " We had this great format , this great world of ' Strike Back ' and then we had to imagine who were the new characters who were going to drive the show in the second year . " Before Project Dawn was even announced , the crew were scouting for locations in South Africa , where the first series was shot , as well as investigating other parts of the world including the United States , South America , and Europe . 
