NewEnglandFilm.com

Lately, Boston has been getting its taste of reality. As the local film industry expands, the terrain has been flooded with reality TV. The Wahlberg family is pumping out their share of pilots, sizzlers, and even a docuseries—among their projects are a pilot for A&E about the Teamsters Local 25, an exploration of the dynamic nature of our Southie sisters in Breaking Boston, and the much-anticipated Wahlburgers pilot about the family restaurant produced by Mark Wahlberg. Older brothers Donnie and Bob have been getting in on the action as well with a NatGeo pilot Boston Metal about a family-run scrapyard in Brockton and a TNT docuseries about the men and women of the Boston Police Department titled Boston’s Finest scheduled to air February 27th. Do the Wahlberg men ever sleep? It’s not all about the W though. A&E has begun a series called Southie Rules and TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress’also gives a nod to Massachusetts. We happily share our talent, landscape and local vernacular as Wicked Tuna catches on, VH1’s Wicked Single flies under the radar, and Wicked Flippah (a reality show about flipping houses) plans to move into our neighborhood.

Not to worry—there are feature films on the horizon too. Warner Brothers and Disney plan to touchdown in the town. Speaking of The Town, Ben and Matt are in pre-production on their latest collaboration where Boston is as much of a character as the actors featured. Another hometown story (that of Bruins legend Derek Sanderson) also meets the silver screen as Turk gets ready to roll. The Equalizer starring Denzel Washington, and Ted 2 both plan to shoot in Massachusetts, and David O. Russell’s Abscam Project is en route after a loss of film credit funds in Philly—a tangible illustration of the importance of the Massachusetts film tax credit.

The Massachusetts Film Tax Credit and our successful hometown heroes are luring major networks to bring their reality shows, episodic TV shows, and movies to the area, building the strong foundation we need to a have a great year for our local film industry. Major networks are taking a chance on us—an encouraging sign. It’s only a matter of time for one of the scripted TV pilots shot here to be picked up. With a foundation laid, now is the right time to maintain our focus on the importance of a skilled local workforce, and to remind our elected officials of our commitment to this industry and the critical nature of their support.

Related Media: Boston Metal (promo)
Boston's Finest (promo)
Southie Rules
The Town (trailer)
Wicked Tuna Season 2 (trailer)

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