Photograph by Myrydd Wells

With temperatures dropping, we’re seeing a flurry of filming activity all across the region. It’s our fall busy season, and the copious amount of film and television programs shooting in our state prove it. Here’s what we saw in October.

Samuel L. Jackson, Nicholas Hoult, and Anthony Mackie are in Atlanta for a new film, The Banker (production code: GARRETT). The film is based on the true story of Joe Morris and Bernard Garrett, two African American bankers who hired a white man to pretend to run their business in order to get around 1960s racism. Production started this month in Midtown on October 2. It remained in the neighborhood until the 4th, with signs popping up on Ponce De Leon Avenue and West Peachtree Street. Between October 6 and 8, crews worked in Newnan, near Dunc’s BBQ Kitchen. Production then moved to downtown Douglasville over the 10th and 11th. On October 15, a scene was shot at a residential home near the Peach shopping center in Buckhead. After that, crews were seen shooting at the Biltmore in Midtown. October 21 took filming into downtown Atlanta. Most recently, filming was spotted back in Newnan.

Behind Dunc's BBQ on Jefferson, next to UWG Newnan campus downtown. Look at these cool old cars! pic.twitter.com/bzfnsA7hp1 — Melissa (@gr8dazeMelissa1) October 10, 2018

A few months ago we reported that HBO was filming a pilot for a series based on Alan Moore’s Watchmen graphic novel. Now, Watchmen (CHAR) has been picked up for a full season order, still shot in Georgia, of course. The show is expected to take some departure from the source material, although not many details are known at this time. Filming for Watchmen took place in Brookhaven on October 14. Signs were up off of GA 74 in Peachtree City between the 16th and 17th. On October 19, crews were back in Brookhaven. Filming was also spotted near the Chamblee MARTA station on October 26. More recently, filming took place at a residential address in Palmetto on the 27th and in Decatur on the 29th. Watchmen will star Regina King, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, and Jeremy Irons.

Stephen King’s follow up novel to The Shining, Doctor Sleep (J&D) is currently in production in Atlanta. Starring Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Zahn McClarnon, and Kyliegh Curran, Doctor Sleep was first spotted in Covington on October 1. After shooting there for two days, crews moved out to Canton on the 4th. Filming also took place in Stone Mountain on the 9th. Production moved ITP, into Midtown, on October 14. Signs were plopped along Lawrenceville Highway on October 22. Crews were spotted in Stone Mountain Park on the 24th. Filming took place in Porterdale the next day. On the 26th, the film was in Fayetteville.

Speaking of sequels, MTV is producing a made-for-television-movie follow up to How High, How High 2 (GAMEU). Gone are Method Man and Redman, replaced with two new characters played by DC Young Fly and Lil Yachty. We saw How High 2 filming at the end of September in Little Five Points. Between October 1 and 3, crews worked out of Morrow. Another scene was filmed in West Midtown on October 8.

Stranger Things (PCF7/MCFLY/1080/BLK45) continued its marathon production season into October, primarily returning to Gwinnett Place Mall for more “Starcourt” filming. Crews worked out of that location all month, with signs popping up again and again between October 5 and the 26th. Aside from the mall, a scene was shot in the West End on October 17 and in Fairburn on the 29th.

Last month, we introduced BET’s new series, American Soul (AMSO), about the creation of Soul Train. In October, we saw signs up for the show at Briarcliff Road and Moreland Avenue on the 5th. On October 7, a scene was shot at Pullman Yard. More signs popped up at Northside Drive and Interstate 75 on the 18th and crews were spotted near the Bitsy Grant Tennis Center in Buckhead on October 27.

Dolly Parton’s still untitled Netflix anthology series (BEULAH) was another holdover this month. A basecamp was spotted in Lathemtown between October 1 through 3 at the Orange United Methodist Church. Signs were also spotted not too far away in Milton on the 5th. Crews worked out of Canton on October 7. Between October 10 and 11, a scene was shot in Smyrna at the old Emory Hospital.

And speaking of Netflix, their original film Sextuplets (LARK), starring Marlon Wayans, was in Douglasville on October 2. Production then moved to Fairburn between the 10th and the 12th after some time on soundstages. A sign was spotted off of Piedmont Road and Habersham Road in Buckhead on the 16th. Between October 17 and 18, a basecamp was set up at Briarlake Baptist Church. Most recently, scenes were shot in Fairburn again between the 24th and 26th.

Brockmire (BM3) continued shooting its third season, ending September at State Mutual Stadium, home of the Rome Braves. That wasn’t the only baseball stadium the series would visit this month, also shooting at Coolray Field, home of the Gwinnett Stripers, on October 4. Production then moved to Stone Mountain Park on the 12th. Signs were placed at Moore’s Mill Road and Interstate 75 on October 22 and along Northside Drive on October 24. This past Sunday, on October 29, filming was back in Stone Mountain Park.

The DC Universe streaming series Doom Patrol (GRANT) was spotted in downtown Atlanta on the 4th. The next day, crews worked in Stockbridge before moving on to Walnut Grove on the 8th. The show shot in Conyers on October 17, and at Emory University on October 29.

Just Mercy (KIKI), starring Michael B. Jordan, Brie Larson, and Jamie Foxx, filmed in Kirkwood on October 1. They also shot in Conyers on the 8th. After that crews moved out to Lithia Springs for a day of filming on the 9th, then back to Conyers on October 17. Signs were also seen in Canton that same day.

CBS’s MacGyver (EYE), always easy to spot around town, ended September at Southlake Mall in Morrow. On October 9, crews filmed in downtown Atlanta. Production moved out to Griffin on the 19th. October 23 took the show up near Peachtree DeKalb Airport. On October 26, filming was down by the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Also seen in October, Avengers 4 (FIGARO) wrapped its Atlanta-area reshoots with a night shoot between the 12th and 13th by the Woodruff Arts Center. The CW’s Dynasty (CROSS EYE) was in Suwanee on the 9th, and in Norcross on the 12th and 25th. Black Lightning (LOC) filmed in Decatur on October 9 and 17, and also in Smyrna between the 24th and 25th. FOX’s The Resident (TR) ended September in Piedmont Park and at the old Emory Hospital in Smyrna. It filmed in Conyers in October 17 and in Stone Mountain the following day. The Passage (PSG) mainly stayed in Stone Mountain, shooting there on September 27, October 4, and October 24. It was also spotted in Conyers on the 17th. Netflix’s Raising Dion (RD) filmed in Locust Grove on the 9th and the 18th. Signs were also spotted in McDonough on October 19. The CW’s Legacies (LGC) was in Walnut Grove on October 5 and in Conyers on the 9th and 17th. Cobra Kai (CK), back for a second season, had signs up in Marietta on October 15. It also worked out of Pinewood Atlanta Studios between the 17th and the 19th. FOX’s Star (SOS) started October in Douglasville before shooting in Lithonia on the 8th.

And finally this month, with Georgia’s high-profile midterm election right around the corner, some film and TV celebrities have come through town (or taken time out of their shooting schedules) to drum up support for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. Will Ferrell spoke at Abrams events at the Varsity’s Kennesaw and Midtown locations this past Friday. He also handed out stickers at Kennesaw State University and even went canvasing in Plains on the 25th. Ferrell isn’t in town for a production—he just came in to help Abrams’s campaign. In another star-studded event, last week Atlanta-based producer Will Packer and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges raised over $300,000 for the Abrams campaign, along with Chris Tucker, Marlon Wayans, Tiffany Haddish, and more.

Will Ferrell spent yesterday in Plains encouraging voters to vote early for @staceyabrams, @SarahRiggsAmico, and all #GADems. Find your early vote location here: https://t.co/aTVXrxPO8E After you vote early, sign up to volunteer: https://t.co/jGIScpYhl8 pic.twitter.com/df7g6gvrOO — Georgia Democrat (@GeorgiaDemocrat) October 26, 2018

Also on the political front, actress and Democratic activist Alyssa Milano, who recently filmed the Netflix series Insatiable in Georgia, told Vulture in an interview published Thursday that she would “have a very hard time going back to Insatiable and feeding [Georgia’s] economy” if Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp wins the election, citing accusations of voter suppression against the current secretary of state. “I would also hope that the 20 other productions that are in Georgia would also find it to be very difficult to go back there,” she continued. Kemp has voiced his support for the filming tax credits, meaning that it’s likely many productions will continue to follow the money into the state. However, Kemp has also previously signaled support for so-called “religious liberty” bills that critics say end up discriminating against the LGBTQ community. The film industry’s response to this type of legislation is well-documented—we’ve previously reported on threats of a boycott in both February of this year and in March 2016. So far, no productions have announced any relocation plans based on the outcome of the election.