Military drama Six filmed North Carolina as Africa

History Channel’s new scripted military TV drama Six doubled locations in the eastern US state of North Carolina for Nigeria.

Author: Nick Goundry

Published: 19 Jan 2017

Six

History Channel’s new scripted military TV drama Six doubled locations in the eastern US state of North Carolina for Nigeria.

The series is inspired by real events and tells the story of Navy SEAL Team Six, the US military unit notable for killing terrorist leader Osama bin Laden in 2011.

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Production for Six was based at EUE/Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington, a facility which offers 150,000 sq ft of floor space over ten sound stages. Forested back lots stood in for rural Nigeria.

“We wanted a place that could double both for Virginia Beach (where the Navy SEALs are based) and Africa where our primary storyline is,” said William Broyles, one of the show’s executive producers, in comments to local media outlet Star News.

“We were lucky the studio there had an area behind it that’s very forested and dense, and with minimal dressing it could pass for Africa.”

North Carolina offers a 25% tax credit as a filming incentive, but the state has struggled to appeal nationally in recent years because of a lack of political commitment to a reasonably-sized film fund. The state has a $30m fund for the 2016-17 financial year.

The Six production team was awarded support of $7.2m and was scheduled to spend around $30m.

History Channel has moved into scripted dramas in a big way, with Vikings based in Ireland and upcoming historical series Knightfall having filmed in Croatia and the Czech Republic.

For more on filming in North Carolina see our production guide.

Image: Kent Smith/History Channel

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