Want to see NC on the big (or small) screen? These are the most recent productions
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North Carolina’s history of making movies
The way North Carolina’s current film incentive program is structured, the state is unlikely to host the production of another blockbuster movie like “Iron Man 3.” But the film industry here, which spans more than 100 years and just set a record in 2021, seems to have found a sweet spot by producing TV shows and smaller movies. And it isn’t just North Carolina’s locations on screen. One famous face could win an Academy Award this weekend. Are you, or the places you love, the state’s next screen gem?
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Last year was a banner year for North Carolina’s film industry, with productions spending more than $400 million in the state, and more than 90 projects filing “intent to film” forms with the state film office.
Which filmed-in-North Carolina projects can you expect to see on the big and small screens in the near future?
Here’s a look at some productions that are currently filming, or recently wrapped, in the state, according to the North Carolina Film Office website.
Productions currently filming in NC
▪ “George and Tammy” — This dramatic limited series will offer a biographical, chronological look at the lives of country music power couple George Jones and Tammy Wynette and their rise to fame. Jessica Chastain is set to star as Wynette, and Michael Shannon will portray Jones. Filming began in Wilmington in December 2021. The series will premiere on Spectrum and move to Paramount+ streaming and Paramount Network. A release date has not yet been announced.
▪ “The Other Zoey” — This romantic comedy film “centers on Zoey Miller, a bright college student who rejects traditional ideals of love and dating, only to have her entire perspective on romance turned upside down when another student mistakes her for his girlfriend, also named Zoey,” according to Deadline. Drew Starkey, from Netflix’s “Outer Banks” and Josephine Langford from Netflix’s “Moxie” will star. Filming began in the Charlotte area in December 2021. A release date has not been announced.
▪ “Boys of Summer” — Mel Gibson will star in this fantasy adventure film, which began filming in the Wilmington area in December 2021. The feature will follow “a local boy, who after his best friend is mysteriously taken, begins to suspect that a supernatural entity may be hunting the children of Martha’s Vineyard. After seeking the help of an aging detective (Gibson), they soon discover they’re on the path of a witch who has recently retired to their island,” Deadline wrote. A release date has not been announced.
NC-filmed projects in post-production
Several productions — both films and series — filmed in the state are in post-production, meaning they have wrapped filming within the past six months or so.
▪ “Our Kind of People” (Season 1) — This drama series premiered on FOX in September 2021 after beginning filming in the Wilmington area in July of that year. The series, inspired by a 1999 book of the same name, follows a single mom (portrayed by Yaya DaCosta) who “risks it all and moves her family to a vineyard with hopes of taking her natural hair care line to the next level by infiltrating the African American elite in Oak Bluffs.” The Season 1 finale aired in January 2022.
▪ “Florida Man” (Season 1) — This streaming series, which will be released on Netflix, follows the “quick gig” turned “wild odyssey” of an ex-cop who returns to his home state of Florida to find a mobster’s runaway girlfriend, IMDb says. Jason Bateman is a producer for the series, and Edgar Ramírez will star as Mike Valentine, the main character. IMDb lists eight episodes for the first season of the series. Filming began in August 2021 in Wilmington and Carolina Beach. A release date has not yet been announced.
▪ “Echoes” — This Netflix miniseries is a mystery thriller about Leni and Gina, “identical twins who have secretly swapped their lives since they were children, culminating in a double life as adults,” IMDb says. When one of the twins goes missing, “everything in their perfectly schemed world turns into chaos.” Michelle Monaghan will star in the lead role. Filming began in August 2021 in the Wilmington area.
▪ “The Summer I Turned Pretty” — This Amazon series is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Jenny Han, who also wrote “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” which later became a trilogy of films on Netflix. The series will follow a “love triangle between one girl and two brothers” and will be “a story about first love, first heartbreak, and the magic of that one perfect summer.” Filming took place in Wilmington, and the series is set to premiere on Amazon in 2022.
▪ “Along for the Ride” — This feature film is based on the 2009 novel of the same name by North Carolina-based author Sarah Dessen. The film follows Auden, who, in the summer before her first year of college, meets the “mysterious” Eli. “While the seaside town of Colby sleeps, the two embark on a nightly quest to help Auden experience the fun, carefree teen life she never knew she wanted,” IMDb says. Andie MacDowell, Dermot Mulroney and Kate Bosworth star. The movie is expected to stream on Netflix beginning in April 2022. Filming took place in the Wilmington area.
▪ “Something Here” — This musical feature film starring Savannah Lee Smith and Owen Patrick Joyner will follow Samantha, “a witty, studious and street-smart high school senior from New York City, adjusting to a new reality after her family relocates to a rural southern community in Tennessee,” according to Deadline. She falls for a “charming yet wayward” Dillon, “a country boy and high school athlete with a maverick’s spirit.” Filming began in the Charlotte area in November 2021. A release date has not been announced.
▪ “Breakwater” — Dermot Mulroney will star in this dramatic crime film from Loose Cannon Pictures about an ex-con who “risks his newfound freedom to track down the estranged daughter of a fellow inmate, and unknowingly brings a devil from her past straight to her doorstep.” Filming began in October 2021 in Wilmington and northeastern areas of the state. A release date has not been announced.
▪ “One True Loves” — This feature-length romance film, based on a novel of the same name, will star Phillipa Soo, who starred in the original Broadway run of “Hamilton,” and Simu Liu, who starred as the title character in Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.” The film, which began filming in the Wilmington area in October 2021, follows a woman who is “unexpectedly forced to choose between the husband she has long thought dead and the fiance who has finally brought her back to life.” IMDb says the film is expected to be released in 2022.
▪ “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” — This feature-length film is adapted from the 1970 novel of the same name by Judy Blume, which focuses on 11-year-old Margaret, who moves with her family from New York City to the New Jersey suburbs. Along the way, Margaret “navigates new friends, feelings, and the beginning of adolescence,” IMDb says. Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates star. Filming took place in the Charlotte area, and the movie is expected to premiere in September 2022. The movie was produced by Lionsgate, which previously said it would not shoot projects in North Carolina with the controversial House Bill 2 still on the books.
▪ “Buried in Barstow” — Angie Harmon will lead this made-for-TV movie that follows a single mother determined to shield her daughter from the life she once had while protecting and defending those who can’t protect themselves. Filming took place in the Charlotte area. The movie will premiere on Lifetime on June 4 at 8 p.m., according to TVfanatic.
▪ “Abandoned” — Emma Roberts, Michael Shannon and John Gallagher Jr. will star in this thriller that follows a young couple who moves into a remote farmhouse with their infant son. “The woman’s struggles with postpartum psychosis begin to intensify as the house reveals secrets of its own,” IMDb says. The feature-length movie was filmed in the Triangle area. A release date has not been announced.
▪ “The Peripheral” (Season 1) — This sci-fi thriller series began filming in Marshall, in western North Carolina, in September 2021. IMDb says the series is set in the future, “when technology has subtly altered society,” and follows a woman who “discovers a secret connection to an alternate reality as well as a dark future of her own.” Chloe Grace Moretz and Jack Reynor will star. The first series, which will stream on Amazon, is set to have eight episodes, but a release date has not been announced.
▪ “Christmas in Harmony” — This made-for-TV Hallmark Christmas movie premiered in October 2021. The film was shot in Wilmington, with St. Andrews Covenant Presbyterian Church serving as the location for church scenes, according to IMDb. The main character, Harmony, is “tricked into auditioning for the Holiday Chorus — directed by an ex-boyfriend. By Christmas Eve, they could be harmonizing in the key of love,” IMDb says.
▪ “One Summer” — This made-for-TV Hallmark Movies & Mysteries film “follows Jack, who takes his son and daughter to his late wife’s hometown, and begins to have visions of the past that could forge a new path forward,” IMDb says. Filming took place in the Wilmington area, and the movie premiered on Hallmark in September 2021.
▪ “County Line: All In” & “County Line: No Fear” — These made-for-TV action films are the latest in the INSP network’s “County Line” series, centering around Maksville County Sheriff Alden Rockwell. Filming for both installments took place in the Charlotte area, and IMDb says they are expected to premiere in 2022.
▪ “Line Sisters” — This made-for-TV film premiered on Lifetime in February 2022. The movie follows four sorority sisters who reunite at a Black Greek Weekend celebration. “But the past comes knocking on their door and strange and inexplicable things begin to happen, threatening to unearth the deadly secret that may tear them apart,” IMDb says. Filming took place in the Wilmington area.
▪ “Evolution of Nate Gibson” — This feature-length film follows “a young man with a bright future” who “suffers a near fatal accident and recreates his new life with the help of an unlikely animal friend,” IMDb says. Marcia Gay Harden and Jim Belushi star. The movie filmed in the Charlotte area, with days also spent in the Triangle and western North Carolina, according to the state film office. A release date has not been announced.
This story was originally published March 23, 2022 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Want to see NC on the big (or small) screen? These are the most recent productions."
