A new T.V. show will be filming in “Cloverwood” this week.
Motherland: Fort Salem will be setting up at The Vault Restaurant, and bringing the magic of special effects with it.
Production crews will be constructing a fit-for-T.V. patio in front of The Vault, as well as creating snow and wind during filming.
The new television series is set in an alternate universe, one in which witches ended their persecution 300 years ago by signing an agreement with the American government. The witch trials — the most of infamous of which happened in Salem, Massachusetts — would end, if witches agreed to fight for the American military.
The story follows three women as they go through basic training in combat magic and on to deployment at “Fort Salem.”
According to Freeform Studios, “In this world, the traditional roles of gender and power are flipped.” Witches fight on the front lines against “looming terrorist threats that are familiar to our world,” but with supernatural weapons.
The show’s leads will be Kelowna’s Taylor Hickson (Deadly Class), Jessica Sutton (Kissing Booth) and Amalia Holm (Alena). The series will consist of 10, one-hour episodes.
Executive producers are Will Ferrell, Kevin Messick and Adam McKay.
Crews will be arriving on Thursday (May 9) to create a set and prepare the Vault (5764 176 St.) for filming. They will be constructing a patio in the curb lane in front of the restaurant, as well as a blackout tent that will stretch from the storefront to the centre line of 176 Street — meaning that there will be single-lane traffic on that portion of the street.
On Friday, crew members will continue to arrive and unpack equipment. When filming starts at 6 p.m. there will be a “closure of the 5700-block” until 9 p.m.
From 9 p.m. Friday night until 7 a.m. Saturday morning, traffic will be allowed through between shots. During that time the area will be lit by production lights, and film and wind effects will be created.
Parking will be impacted in the area around the shoot, and the City of Surrey will be posting temporary “no stopping” signs on adjacent streets.
Made-for-T.V. magic isn’t new for downtown Cloverdale. In February this year, Supernatural crew members built an entire 1950s inspired diner just across the street from the Vault.
And just down the block from where Motherland will film, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina crew have been working on their Cerberus Books set in anticipation for filming season three of their hit Netflix series. The production plans to return to the set two or three times per month from May 2019 to February 2020 to film.
- SEE MORE: Sabrina television series makes ‘chilling’ return to Cloverdale
- SEE ALSO: ‘Supernatural’ brings the 1950s to Cloverdale
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