North Carolina is having a moment on the small screen
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"The Runarounds," filmed in Wilmington, NC follows recent high school graduates pursuing a music career. Photo: Jackson Lee Davis/Prime Video
Turn on your favorite streaming service and you'll likely see a project filmed in North Carolina — from the Crystal Coast to Charlotte and Lake Norman.
Why it matters: Productions like these fuel North Carolina's economy and tourism, drawing fans who want to visit filming locations. Recent movie and TV projects have funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to the state, Axios' Zachery Eanes reported.
- An estimated $138 million has been spent in North Carolina by productions so far this year, according to the North Carolina Film Office.
Driving the news: Prime Video recently released the trailer for "The Runarounds," an eight-episode music drama series set to air Sept. 1.
- The show follows recent high school graduates from Wilmington, North Carolina, pursuing a music career. Real-life musicians William Lipton, Axel Ellis, Jeremy Yun, Zendé Murdock and Jesse Golliher star in the show.
- Model and actress Brooklyn Decker, who lives in the Charlotte area with husband Andy Roddick, also appears in the show.
The intrigue: "The Runarounds" is by the creators of "Outer Banks," a popular Netflix series partly filmed in Wilmington.
Zoom out: The North Carolina Film Office lists nine recent productions that have filmed in Wilmington, including "The Runarounds," "The Waterfront" on Netflix, and "The Summer I turned Pretty" on Prime Video, to name a few.
- The North Carolina Film Office currently lists 11 total current productions across the state and 14 total productions filmed in 2024.
The big picture: It's been a successful summer for shows filmed in North Carolina.
- "The Hunting Wives," which was filmed in and around Charlotte, has been a top 10 show on Netflix since it dropped in July.
- "The Summer I Turned Pretty," which was filmed in parts of the Triangle, including UNC Chapel Hill, has millions of people tuning in.
Yes, but: NC doesn't have the same level of financial incentives it did during its "Iron Man 3" era, meaning the state is more likely to see small screen projects than big-budget films.
By the numbers: North Carolina offers a 25% rebate program to projects.
- A feature length film must have a minimum in-state spend of $1.5 million to qualify for the program. Feature length films may receive up to $7 million from the state meaning they would have to spend a minimum of $28 million here.
- A series' in-state spend must be a minimum of $500,000 average per episode, per the North Carolina Film Office. The state will reimburse a up to $15 million per season, meaning a show would need to spend $60 million here.
What they're saying: "A lot of production decisions are based on financial decisions," meaning incentives from states and other countries are a driving force in determining where projects are filmed, North Carolina Film Office director Guy Gaster tells Axios.
What we're watching: Charlotte continues to attract reality shows, including "Love is Blind," "The Ultimatum," and the upcoming season of "Top Chef."
- Channing Tatum's "Roofman," which was filmed in Charlotte, will premiere in theaters this fall.
- Three upcoming projects filmed in North Carolina will be at the Toronto Film Festival next month: "Roofman," "Christy" (a boxer biopic starring Sydney Sweeney that was filmed in the Charlotte area) and "Driver's Ed" (a comedy filmed in the Wilmington area).
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that in-state spending must be a minimum of $500,000 per episode (not $5,000).