New TV series set to shoot in Macon beginning later this month

A film crew is scheduled to begin shooting a new TV series in Macon next week.

Once again, historic Luther Williams Field will figure prominently in the shooting.

Macon-Bibb County commissioners learned details of the crew’s visit late Tuesday morning from the Macon Film Commission.

“Brockmire” is about a famed Major League Baseball announcer, played by Hank Azaria, who has a meltdown on the air after learning about his wife’s infidelity. Years later, Jim Brockmire tries to resurrect his career in a small town, returning to the booth to call minor league games for the Morristown Frackers, according to Variety. The show is based on a “Funny Or Die” short video.

Amanda Peet will play Jules, the strong-willed owner of the Frackers.

Shooting in Macon could run from June 22 to mid-July. “Brockmire” would eventually air on Netflix.

The show was picked up for eight episodes by IFC, a TV and satellite network company owned by AMC Networks.

Azaria is known for his work on the animated television sitcom “The Simpsons,” voicing Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon and Chief Wiggum, among others. Among his other credits are films including “The Birdcage,” “Godzilla,” “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” and “The Smurfs.” He has won five Emmys and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

“Brockmire” is written by Joel Church-Cooper and will be directed by Tim Kirkby.

Over the years, several movies have shot scenes at Luther Williams Field, which was built in 1929. They include “The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings, “42” and “Trouble with the Curve.”

The “Brockmire” crew’s work around Macon will generate almost $28,000 in rental fees, including the baseball field and other sites. There will be about 85 hotel room rentals nightly over a nearly two-week period, said Jason Underwood, location manager for Enjoy It Inc.

While having a film shoot for a few weeks in Macon is a nice coup, a TV series provides more potential, said Macon Film Commissioner Elliott Dunwody.

“We believe that if we can get a (TV) series here, that can be a long-term kind of thing,” he said.

The historic Luther Williams Field and Terminal Station are two unique facilities that are attractive to people in the TV and movie industry.

“Those are our carrots. If we can get people at those facilities, we can up-sell (other areas of Macon),” Dunwody said.

Underwood said that Macon, unlike a city like Atlanta, has not lost many of the older buildings that can be important for certain TV and film scenes.

“Ultimately that erodes the character of a place, robs the identity and that hasn’t happened to a (large) degree in Macon,” he said. “I think Macon has done a wonderful job of preserving its identity.”

Also, about 30 miles down Interstate 75 from Macon, the latest addition to the blockbuster movie series “Fast and Furious” will be shot in Perry’s disaster training facility, the Guardian Center.

The franchise that features high-octane cars and major movies stars such as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has generated nearly $4 billion in the box office. “Fast 8” also will star Charlize Theron and Vin Diesel and will be released in theaters in 2017, according to IMDb.

This story was originally published June 14, 2016 at 11:55 AM with the headline "New TV series set to shoot in Macon beginning later this month."