Photograph by Matt Walljasper
With the year winding down and cold setting in, we’re getting to the point where productions are a little less frequent in Georgia. So even if you’re seeing fewer yellow signs, rest assured it’s only because of the holidays. Here’s what we saw and where we saw it in November.
Apple has teamed up with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television and Once Upon a Time co-creators Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis for a remake of the 1980s anthology series Amazing Stories (production code: PUGET). Using the working title “Puget Sound,” the show was spotted in north Georgia, near Alto, on November 6. On the 9th, crews took over downtown Forsyth. Later in the month, the series filmed in Griffin on November 19. Additional signs led to Dobbins Air Reserve Base on November 21. Between the 21st and 23rd, crews returned to Griffin. On November 27, the show moved ITP into downtown Atlanta.
Rose Byrne, Salma Hayek, and Tiffany Haddish are in town for a new comedy, Limited Partners (M&M). The movie will focus on two friends who have built a successful company but differing opinions on a buyout offer. We first saw this production on November 1, when a basecamp was spotted in Grant Park along Boulevard. Additional signs were placed along Ivan Allen Boulevard the next day. On November 7, crews were working in Cobb County near SunTrust Park. Several days later, on the 12th, scenes were filmed downtown near Georgia State University. Even more signs were spotted on November 13 at Collier and Howell Mill Roads. Most recently, since November 19, Limited Partners has been shooting downtown at AmericasMart Atlanta.
Also new this month, Back to the Goode Life (GOODE LIFE), an independent feature film about a woman who returns to her simple upbringing after having her assets wrongfully frozen. The film shot in McDonough on November 2. A basecamp was set up at Trinity United Methodist Church, across from Atlanta City Hall, on the 13th. More filming took place in Kirkwood on November 28.
BET is developing a series based on the 1992 Eddie Murphy film Boomerang (PTV). The show aims to explore the modern workplace, updating the plot of the original film to fit today’s issues. At the end of October, we spotted PTV signs in Buckhead at the corner of Peachtree and Piedmont Roads. On November 6 and on November 13, crews worked in Mechanicsville. More signs were spotted on Clairmont Road on November 21.
Atlanta producer Will Packer is producing a new series for Oprah’s OWN network, Ambitions (AMB). The series will follow a woman at odds with some powerful players in her new city as she tries to revitalize her marriage. We saw a scene being shot on November 8 in Midtown, off of North Avenue. Keep an eye out for more AMB signs in the coming months.
HBO’s Watchmen (CHAR) continued production this month. The series ended October in Chamblee before moving to McDonough over November 8-9. Crews were spotted in Palmetto, with a basecamp off of US 29, on November 15. On the 27th, the show filmed near the West Lake MARTA station.
The Dolly Parton/Netflix project finally has a name! According to Variety, the anthology series will be named Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings (BEULAH). On October 27, the show filmed in downtown Atlanta. In early November, on the 6th, crews filmed in Norcross. A sign was spotted on November 11 on Northside Drive. Production moved out to Gainesville on November 26. The following day, the show was spotted in Cumming.
Samuel L. Jackson’s The Banker (GARRETT) returned to Dunc’s BBQ Kitchen in Newnan, a location from earlier last month, at the end of October. On November 4, the film shot downtown in Fairlie Poplar. Crews then returned to Newnan on November 11.
Back at it again behind Dunc’s BBQ in Newnan @ATLWOOD411 pic.twitter.com/o1RjkMfK8z
— Melissa (@gr8dazeMelissa1) October 27, 2018
Stranger Things (PCF7/MCFLY/1080/BLK45) has been with us for most of the year, but now it’s finally wrapping up. At the end of October, 1080 signs were spotted leading to the Georgia Renaissance Festival grounds. On November 6, crews were in the West End.
Netflix’s other supernatural series, Raising Dion (RD), however, is still going. Signs were up along Glen Iris Drive near Ponce City Market on November 5. The production filmed in Riverdale between November 14-15. On the 17th, crews worked in McDonough. They were in Henry County on November 19 and in Locust Grove on the 20th.
FOX’s The Passage (PSG) filmed in Stonecrest on November 1. Scenes were also shot in Stone Mountain on November 14. The show was spotted in Smyrna on the 16th.
The CW’s Dynasty (CROSS EYE) started November in Suwanee on the 2nd. The production then moved to Norcross between the 5th and the 7th. On November 13, scenes were shot in Greensboro. Two days later, on the 15th, filming returned to Norcross. Most recently, over November 28-29, filming continued on soundstages in Norcross.
Also this month, the sequel to The Shining, Doctor Sleep (J&D), had signs up in East Atlanta on October 31. BET’s American Soul (AMSO) was in Sandy Springs on November 9, downtown Atlanta on the 27th, and near Buford Highway and Chamblee Tucker Road on November 28. The CW’s Black Lightning (LOC) was spotted in Decatur on November 14. Another CW series, Legacies (LGC), filmed in downtown Dallas between November 7-8 and in Conyers on the 15th. Doom Patrol (GRANT) mostly was in Conyers throughout the month, with signs being posted on November 1, 15, and 28. FOX’s The Resident (TR) ended October in downtown Atlanta before returning to its usual digs in Conyers. Signs were up there between November 14 and 15, as well as on the 21st and 28th. Cobra Kai (CK) was spotted in Union City on November 8. MacGyver (EYE) was in Grant Park on November 12 and in southwest Atlanta on November 14. The Gifted (HVN) filmed in College Park on October 31 and November 19.
And finally, we noted in October that some controversy was brewing around Georgia’s gubernatorial election and the Hollywood of the South. In the wake of former Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s narrow victory over Stacey Abrams, calls to boycott Georgia’s film industry have grown. Among others, Alyssa Milano, Ron Perlman, and Frank Rich have all been vocal against the state. Moving to ease tensions, Abrams weighed in, asking that Georgian entertainment industry workers not be punished for something they did not cause. Kemp said he wasn’t worried about a boycott, pledging to “protect the film tax credit.” While a widespread industry boycott seems unlikely, the elephant in the room is the threat of “religious freedom” bills that critics say erode the rights of LGBTQ individuals. As previously mentioned, Kemp has signaled support for this type of legislation, and Hollywood’s reaction to previous attempts to pass that type of legislation (which included Disney threatening to pull productions from the state) was much more vocal than the #BoycottGeorgia movement of the last month.
