NBC films new series 'The Enemy Within' around North Jersey

Laura Adams Stiansen | NorthJersey

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Who doesn't love watching a TV show or movies and recognizing a local landmark on the screen? We immediately feel a sense of pride that our home state is being showcased. And, now that the Garden State Film and Digital Media Jobs Act was passed by Gov. Phil Murphy in April, giving up to $75 million in tax credits for film production and up to $10 million for digital media over five years, we are sure to see more of New Jersey on the big and little screens.

Bergen Community College is one of the New Jersey locations that the NBC spy-hunting thriller "The Enemy Within" has shot scenes for its midseason premiere of the show, which features Jennifer Carpenter ("Limitless," "Dexter"), as a former CIA operative who is serving life in prison, and Morris Chestnut ("Goliath," "Rosewood," "Legends"), an FBI agent who needs her help.

According to the college, a production crew from Universal Television temporarily transformed familiar spots on the college campus to go along with the episode's plot, featuring scenes with Carpenter and Chestnut. College faculty and students were able to observe the shoot and interact with the production crew.

“Even though we’ve had film shoots on campus before, including "The Sopranos," the Garden State Film and Digital Media Jobs Act opens a new era of these types of opportunities for Bergen Community College," says Bergen County College President Dr. Michael D. Redmond. "In addition to the acclaim and exposure for the institution associated with serving as a set for a major media production, no one benefited more than our students and faculty. The shoot provided a very special experiential learning opportunity that put them on the set with the production staff — that’s an opportunity that doesn’t come along every day.”

Ken Woodruff, creator and executive producer of "The Enemy Within," adds, "It has been absolutely wonderful to shoot 'The Enemy Within' here in New Jersey, and to be the first TV series to film in the state since the tax credit bill was signed into law. New Jersey offers unique and varied locations to film, experienced crews, and has been a fantastic host to our production. We’re thrilled to be in New Jersey, and will be recommending the experience to our colleagues across the industry."

Filming in New Jersey

According to the New Jersey Motion Picture & Television Commission, the following projects were filmed in New Jersey this year: "Quantico" (Whippany), "Succession" (Teterboro and Atlantic City), "Jersey Shore Family Vacation" (Jackson, Long Branch, Florham Park, Toms River and Newark), "The Rundown with Robin Thede" (Livingston), "Beachfront Bargain Hunt" (Seaside Heights and Ocean City), among others like a Shawn Mendes music video shot in Kearny.

Shows now filming in our area include "The Code", an upcoming CBS military legal drama starring Luke Mitchell ("Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."), in North Jersey; "Spider-Man: Far From Home," the sequel to the film Spider-Man: Homecoming, in Newark; "A Nice Girl Like You," starring Lucy Hale, in Atlantic City and Hudson County; and "Romeo," the working title for the new Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix, in Newark and Jersey City.

"We are experience a tremendous upsurge in production activity thanks to the passage of the new tax credit program," says Steven Gorelick, executive director of the New Jersey Motion Picture & Television Commission. "Major projects are already filming here, so it has had an immediate effect. Based on the number of requests being received, we expect that 2019 will be a record year for the New Jersey production industry, and by a wide margin. The film and television industry is back in force."

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