STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — Producers for the hit Netflix original series are back in metro Atlanta picking up scenes for the show’s upcoming final season.
Blue Cat Productions issued a notice for filming on Monday, according to Katie Dunn who shared it in 11Alive’s The A-Scene Facebook group. Production crews began working in the area of Park Blvd in Stone Mountain on July 15 and will go until July 21.
The notification was to let residents know that crews worked closely with Stone Mountain police to manage traffic impacted by production.
Meesh Weinstein, another viewer shared recognizable images of the Ozark’s set at Lake Lanier. She revealed that security let her snag the photos.
“All Ozark! I got to tour the set at lake Lanier! It was amazing!!! Other pics are from Stone Mountain,” Weinstein wrote.
Ozark” is set in Missouri but has filmed its scenes mostly in Georgia since its first season. Netflix reports the last season picked up with the crew doubling down on risky decisions, “to expand their empire in the next chapter of the thrilling crime drama series."
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So, what’s the secret to the show being a hit with fans and a success for Georgia? It’s all about the production.
The writer’s room, led by showrunner Chris Mundy and about six writers who take five or six weeks to plot the overarching season, delivering a plot that keeps fans on the edge of their seats.
“It shouldn’t just be throwing too much story or too much incident or craziness at the screen, it’s really like do you feel completely emotionally engaged in the people that you’re reading about,” Chris Mundy told Final Draft.
“The writers I don’t know how they keep escalating the danger without killing us or putting us in jail,” Bateman said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon back in December.
It also helps if the actors feel completely engaged in their surroundings, which is why Bateman says “Ozark” had to film in Georgia.
“I just love how cosmopolitan and sort of tolerant it is too. It’s super progressive and a lot of interesting people to talk to,” Bateman told Georgia Film.
According to Nielsen, back in 2017, the show’s premiere garnered a viewing audience of over 8.7 million U.S. viewers in its first 10 days. Two season premieres later during the pandemic, viewership on day one tripled.
Ozark is one of the 234 TV and film productions that helped make a dent in Georgia’s economy during fiscal year 2020.
From production of season 3 alone, more than 1,000 Georgians were hired largely as members of the crew, as well as some cast, in addition to thousands more extras and security personnel. A combined more than 3,200 nights were accrued in hotel rooms. The company also used stage space here in Georgia, in addition to on-location filming, according to Georgia Film.
Other local direct economic impacts were the lodging, craft services, car and equipment rentals, and wardrobe, hair and makeup talent.
According to Georgia Film, grip/electric and sound expenses reached a combined nearly $2.6 million. Expenses for set dressing and props reached nearly $1.5 million.
Georgia Film Commissioner Lee Thomas revealed that she is proud of the impact the show has reached on the communities in Georgia beyond the large production sets.
“We’re proud of Ozark and our Georgia-lensed Golden Globe nominees who play a part in employing crews and small businesses statewide as part of this well over $2 billion industry that consistently sets new records in the state. When productions end, we are sorry to see them go, but interest and filming in Georgia has never been stronger. With an ever-growing workforce pipeline thanks to our education partners at the Georgia Film Academy, college and university system, and even high schools getting in on the act, more stage space is being built here and in use every day. It’s great to see so many productions back up and running in metro Atlanta and across the state, thanks to our state’s safe reopening of the industry,” Thomas told 11Alive in a statement.