WILMINGTON — “Secrets and Lies” is leaving the Port City for the Golden State.
The ABC series, which filmed its first season locally, will relocate to California for its second season, according to the state’s film commission.
“Secrets and Lies,” a detective drama starring Juliette Lewis, is one of four TV projects moving in from other states set to receive a total of $27.6 million in tax credits.
Last month, it was announced that the show had been picked up for a second season. A publicist for the show told Port City Daily at that time that a decision on filming locations had not yet been made.
The show’s exodus–which follows that of “Sleepy Hollow,” the Fox series that announced its move to Georgia in January–comes as no surprise to N.C. Rep. Ted Davis.
Davis–who introduced a bill in 2014 that would have extended the state’s tax incentives for one year–was recently able to push through a $70 million increase between 2015-17 in the existing $10 million film grant program currently in place.
“I think it is a perfect example of why we need more than $10 million in grants for productions,” Davis said of “Secrets and Lies.” “We only had $10 million and it went to three productions and it’s gone now. There’s nothing left to give anybody else.”
One of those three productions was the popular, locally shot CBS series, “Under the Dome,” which received half of the total grant package. The show will remain in the region to shoot its third season, but a spokesperson for CBS said last month that no decision had yet been reached on where it would film moving forward.
“I hope the Senate will keep the $40 million in each year for the next two years so we can keep productions here or bring more in,” Davis said, noting the negative impact exiting productions had on local businesses that rely on the film industry. “Right now, we have nothing more to give anybody to stay here.”
Other TV series benefiting from California’s relocation incentive include FX thriller, “American Horror Story,” moving from Louisiana; the VH1 series, “Hindsight,” which had been in Georgia; and “Veep,” the HBO comedy starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus that was located in Maryland.
Hilary Snow is a reporter for Port City Daily. Reach her at (910) 772-6341 or hilary.s@hometownwilmington.com.
