Filming in Vancouver: Katie Holmes, Heather Graham, Robbie Amell, Ruby Rose, and more
In this week’s look at what’s happening in Vancouver’s screen scene, we’ve got two TV pilots starting up.
One is poised to become the first live-action superhero TV series featuring an openly gay character while the other delves into intrigue as a woman becomes fascinated by her boyfriend’s stalker.
Meanwhile, a new high-tech–inspired TV series gets underway and a horror feature film about a super creepy doll is finishing up over on Vancouver Island this week.
So for our rundown of who and what’s coming and going from the streets of Hollywood North, we’ll see you after the jump…
TV pilots
As TV pilot season gets going, we’ve got two potential new TV series that start shooting this week.
Batwoman begins production today (March 4) and will continue until March 25.
As both Australian actress Ruby Rose (Orange is the New Black) and Kate Kane, the civilian identity of the eponymous caped crusader, are out lesbians, the series will break new ground as the first live-action superhero series featuring a gay lead character.
Kane is a highly skilled street fighter who is passionate about social justice and ready to tackle the surging crime in Gotham as she struggles with her own inner demons.
The cast includes Elizabeth Anweis, Rachel Skarsten, Camrus Johnson, Nicole Kang, Dougray Scott, Meagan Tandy, and Brendon Zub.
A little later on in the week, The Hypnotist’s Love Story is scheduled to shoot from March 10 to 27.
Based on the book of the same name by author Liane Moriarty (Big Little Lies), the show revolves around Ellen who is successful in her career as a hypnotherapist but has had nothing but failures in her love life.
Things take a twist with her new boyfriend when he reveals that he has been stalked for years by an ex-girlfriend—played by Heather Graham (The Hangover), who is also an executive producer—which makes Ellen intrigued and strangely thrilled.
So far, the only other cast member announced is Liza Lapira (9JKL), who will play the best friend of Ellen.
TV series
While those two projects await word if they’ll become full-fledged series, a new TV series is getting underway on its first season.
The sci-fi romance satire Upload starts shooting Season 1 on Tuesday (March 5) and will continue until May 10
This single-camera sitcom takes place in the year 2033 when dying people can opt to be uploaded into a virtual-reality afterlife.
When the self-driving car of a Los Angeles party boy Nathan, played by Robbie Amell (The Flash)—who, yes, is the cousin of Stephen Amell of Arrow fame—crashes, his girlfriend uploads him into a VR environment.
There he meets Nora (Andy Allo, who incidentally costarred with the aforementioned Ruby Rose in Pitch Perfect 3), a lively customer-service representative who secretly pines for romance.
The cast also includes Zainab Johnson, Chris Williams, Serykah Aggerwhil, Josh Banday, Kevin Bigley, Matt Braunger, Christine Ko, and Rhys Slack.
We’ll have to wait to hear when this one is set to premiere on TV.
Feature film
Over on Vancouver Island, The Boy 2started shooting back on January 28 and will wrap on this Friday (March 8). Production was based in Saanichton, B.C., near Victoria.
This horror-thriller sequel, directed by William Brent Bell (The Devil Inside) who also directed the original 2016 movie, sees Katie Holmes and Owain Yeoman as parents of a young boy (played by Christopher Convery) who move into a mansion, unaware of the estate’s dark history. There, their son befriends an eerie doll he finds named Brahms.
The cast also includes Ralph Ineson and Oliver Rice.
However, viewers won’t be able to see this one quite yet. Although a specific release date hasn’t been announced yet, it will be sometime in 2020.
But we’ll obviously have plenty more news to share with you in the meantime so check back in with us again next week.
Cheerio for the moment and have fun Vancouver-spotting on a screen near you!