CHICAGO, April 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The film industry in Chicago is back up and rolling! Cinespace Chicago Film Studios, the second-largest film studio outside of Los Angeles in North America, is pleased to welcome several new productions to its growing campus as the Studios continue to strictly follow health and safety best practices from the CDC and Illinois Guidance. The Midwest's production hot spot recently added another 105,000 square foot industrial building near its main campus to expand its footprint and bring more stages online for the busy content creation industry. The Studios also announced four new series filming at its facilities as productions begin to ramp back up with additional health and safety protocols.
New programs scheduled to film at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios this spring include Lightyears, 61st Street, Power Book IV: Force, and Paper Girls. The productions will bring more than 200 – 300 new jobs per show to the campus and play a vital role in resurrecting the television and film industry in Chicago.
"We're really happy to have the industry back in action on our campus," said Alex Pissios, president and CEO of Cinespace Chicago Film Studios. "During this pandemic, I think we all had a chance to experience how essential quality shows are to our culture and even to our mental health. Having Chicago as a critical link to providing not only quality entertainment, but also good-paying jobs in our community makes all the extra effort to help production companies keep filming worth it."
Lightyears is a sci-fi drama co-produced by Amazon Studios and Legendary Television by writer Holden Miller and producer Daniel C. Connolly. The show follows a couple who discovered a chamber buried in their backyard, which inexplicably leads to a strange, deserted planet. They've carefully guarded their secret, but when a mysterious young man enters their lives, the couples' quiet existence is quickly upended. The furtive chamber they thought they knew so well turns out to be much more than they could ever have imagined. Oscar-winner Sissy Spacek and three-time Emmy-nominated Ed O'Neill will star in the sci-fi drama. Lightyears will premiere exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.
Executive producer Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther) is already shooting the AMC drama series 61st Street at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios. This courtroom drama follows a promising black high school athlete who is swept up into the Chicago criminal justice system. This timely and provocative drama is set against the systemic abuse that exists in some of our country's most vulnerable communities.
Power Book IV: Force, the third spin-off of the popular Starz Power series produced by Lionsgate, is also shooting at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios. Force is set on Chicago's South Side and stars Chicago Northwest Side native Joseph Sikora and also welcomes Anthony Fleming (Prison Break) and Lucien Cambric (Chicago PD) to the show. Force will follow Tommy Egan (Joseph Sikora) as he turns his back on New York and heads to Los Angeles through Chicago to take on the Irish mob.
Based on the comic book series by Brian K. Vaughan, Paper Girls is an Amazon series created by two studios, Legendary Television and Plan B, and written by Stephany Folsom, who previously worked on Toy Story 4 and Thor: Ragnarok. The story centers around four 12-year-old girls who deliver newspapers. While making deliveries the day after Halloween, the girls become involved in a conflict between two groups of time travelers. The comic book series will bring a lot of excitement to the small screen exploring everything from time travel between different centuries, future versions of characters, and the question of whether or not the past can or should be changed by time travelers.
Returning series filming at the Chicago campus include Chicago Fire, Season 9; Chicago P.D., Season 8; Chicago Med, Season 6; and The Chi, Season 4; South Side, Season 2; and The Big Leap.
Masking, social distancing, and capacity limits in public and workplaces continue to be enforced at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios for the health and safety of staff and all production workers. For more information on programs filming at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios or for information on CineCares Foundation, please visit ChicagoFilmStudios.com or CineCaresFoundation.org
About Cinespace Chicago Film Studios:
Cinespace Chicago Film Studios is a family-owned company specializing in the development, management, and operation of studio space and support facilities for the film, television, and digital media production industry. With 42 sound stages on its 2.2 million square foot main campus in Chicago's North Lawndale neighborhood and additional studios at 31st and Kedzie, Cinespace is the largest film studio outside of California. Since opening in 2011, Cinespace has helped bring more than 15,000 new jobs to the area. As part of Cinespace's commitment to the neighborhood, the family established CineCares Foundation to train and employ area residents through education and job training in TV & Film. The CineCare's Foundation Mirkopoulos Internship Program partners with FOX, HBO, NBCUniversal, Wolf Films, and Studio Mechanics Union Local 476. In addition to film production, the campus is home to Stage 18 Chicago, a 501(c) 3 organization and incubator established to retain and grow talent in Chicago. Key tenants at Cinespace include 312 Fast Draw, AbelCine, Cinelease, DePaul FilmSchool, Keslow Camera, Lagunitas, and Periscope Post & Audio. For more information or to contract studio or business space at Cinespace, visit the website at ChicagoFilmStudios.com.
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