PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Two television series and one movie are in production right now in the Philadelphia area with strict COVID-19 safety guidelines being followed for cast and crews.
Sharon Pinkenson, executive director of the Greater Philadelphia Film Office, said productions resumed recently after extensive consultations with health authorities in Philadelphia, Delaware and Chester counties.
Two TV shows – “The Mare of Easttown,” an HBO series featuring Kate Winslet, and “Servant,” M Night Shyamalan’s Apple TV series – are operating in separate locations.
“Everyone in all of these shows, they’re living in pods,” Pinkenson explained. “Anybody that’s come in from out of state is living — for each of those shows — in a hotel. That’s a complete buyout and everyone quarantining.”
All members of the production companies are also undergoing frequent COVID-19 tests.
“Everyone tested, depending on where you are, at least three times a week, for each show,” Pinkenson said. “And principal actors and directors and people who have to be right in the front all the time, they’re getting as much as every single day. They have rapid testing.”
She said Adam Sandler’s new Netflix movie, “Hustle,” also starring Queen Latifah, has begun shooting and has hired local actors and film crew as well.
They, too, are operating under strict safety protocols.
Pinkenson declined to disclose any of the shooting locations for health and safety reasons.