Date set for premiere of TV comedy ‘Brockmire,’ shot at Luther Williams Field

Macon is making its way onto the small screen again this spring.

The comedy “Brockmire” is scheduled to premiere on IFC at 10 p.m. April 5, and the venerable Luther Williams Field will be in the spotlight.

Hank Azaria plays Jim Brockmire, a former Major League Baseball announcer who’s trying to resurrect his career after an on-air breakdown. Amanda Peet and Tyrel Jackson Williams also star in the TV show.

The trailer for “Brockmire” is “nothing but Macon,” said Macon Film Commission member Elliott Dunwody. Some of the show was shot in Atlanta, but much of it was filmed at the historic Macon ballpark in June.

The 1929 landmark — the country’s second oldest minor league stadium — serves as the fictional Morristown Stadium, where Brockmire gets back to work calling games.

“In the story, (Brockmire has) had some hard times, and he’s coming back. Instead of the major leagues, he’s been knocked down to the minor leagues. It had to be a believable setting,” Macon Film Commission chairman Terrell Sandefur said. “He could not be doing this in a brand-new, shiny stadium. We had the perfect location for that, because we have a baseball park that has not been renovated and still has the age and the look.”

Luther Williams Field was also used for other movies over the years, including “The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings, “42” and “Trouble with the Curve.”

The Macon Film Commission has been marketing the city as an ideal setting for film and TV projects with baseball themes, Sandefur said. The goal is for producers to see other parts of Macon and find additional locations they could use, so they’ll want to stay longer than just a day or two.

“We are a film-ready community, which means we have everything in place to help production companies when they come to town,” he said. “It’s just a really easy city to do production work.”

With the state offering tax credits of up to 30 percent for film, TV and digital projects, many producers are looking for locations in Georgia, Sandefur said. Macon has been steadily building its resume in recent years.

The 2010 movie “The Crazies” and 2014’s “Need for Speed” were shot here. County singer Jason Aldean used downtown as the setting for his “Gonna Know We Were Here” music video in September.

The CW’s “The Originals” has filmed at the Grand Opera House, Hay House and another historic home on Georgia Avenue. In addition, the Terminal Station, houses on High Street and portions of Cherry and Second streets have also been used in TV and film projects, Dunwody said.

This story was originally published January 17, 2017 at 3:56 PM with the headline "Date set for premiere of TV comedy ‘Brockmire,’ shot at Luther Williams Field."