North Carolina approves grant for five new film and TV productions

North Carolina Film and Entertainment Grant has awarded funds for five film and television projects, the state's governor Roy Cooper confirms.

The new projects are expected to produce direct in-state spending of more than $61m while creating more than 2,400 local job opportunities.

“We are excited to have more cameras rolling across our state,” said Cooper. “Having North Carolina communities as the backdrop for independent and studio-supported projects is a positive multiplier for our talented workforce, our small businesses, and our economy.”

Films

The first awardee, Untitled Please Don’t Destroy, is a Universal Pictures feature from comedy group Please Don’t Destroy (SNL). The production will receive up to $7m maximum and will shoot in Burke, Gaston, and Mecklenburg counties. 

Site is approved for a film rebate totalling $937,500. The project is shooting in the greater Charlotte area and tells the story of a man who, after experiencing a time distortion in an abandoned military test site, begins to suffer traumatic visions of other lives that somehow hold the thread to his own unravelling present. 

Eric Larue is an independent feature-length film, with production taking place in the greater Wilmington area, that tells the story of a mother’s struggle to cope after her son commits an act of mass violence. The production hails from Big Indie Pictures and has been approved for a grant of up to $589,105. 

TV series

TV series Welcome to Flatch returns to southeastern North Carolina for its second season, continuing its storyline about a small town, particularly its younger population, that is being filmed for a documentary.  Production is also already underway in Duplin, New Hanover, and Pender counties, with filming continuing through October. This Fox series from Lionsgate Television has been approved for a rebate grant award of $6.5m. 

The final grant recipient is a made-for-TV/streaming film Second Time Around, featuring a pastor whose chance encounter may turn out to be a true gift from heaven, has been approved for an award of up to $156,250. The project recently completed filming in Cabarrus and Mecklenburg counties and will air on the streaming service PureFlix. 

In total, the latest projects bring film-related production spending in North Carolina to over $240m, while creating more than 13,000 job opportunities in 2022. 

“We are excited to have more and more productions creating economic development opportunities in our state,” said North Carolina film office director, Guy Gaster. “From feature-length films to television and streaming series, to commercials and travel shows, our state is once again proving to be a top choice for production.”