Vancouver Screen Scene: From The Arrangement and iZombie to Chesapeake Shores and Okja

In this week’s roundup of what’s shooting in Hollywood North, we have a collection of four TV series kicking off today, three productions leaving town, and a Netflix movie, by a renowned South Korean director, starting the Vancouver leg of its production.

To things start off, Frequency Season 1 starts shooting today (July 25), and continues until December 13.

In this adaptation of the 2000 film starring Dennis Quaid, Peyton List (Mad Men) stars as a Detective Raimy Sullivan who discovers she can speak with her father on his old ham radio back in 1996 before his death.

When her father heeds Raimy’s warning and survives a murder attempt, the changing of the historical timeline has a profound impact on Raimy’s present—with dramatic consequences.

The series will air on the CW on October 5.

Elsewhere in the city, The Arrangement launches into production today as well.

This series takes a page from Hollywood gossip columns in the story of TV actress Megan Morrison (Christine Evangelista of Chicago Fire) who nabs a role in a summer blockbuster opposite one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, Kyle West (played by Josh Henderson of Desperate Housewives).

When West takes Morrison out on a date, things get even hotter when he eventually offers her a $10-million marriage contract.

While it may seem like a dream come true, we all know that things aren’t always what they seem in Tinseltown.

That’s especially the case when Kyle’s mentor runs a mysterious organization called the Institute of the Higher Mind.

Hmm, does this sound like any stars you know of?

We’ll leave that one up to you to answer for yourself.

In the meantime, another TV series starting production today is iZombie, which starts in on Season 3. It’ll shoot in the city until January 9.

It’s a loose adaptation of the comic book published by DC Comics under their Vertigo imprint.

The Seattle-set series stars Rose McIver (Tinkerbell on Once Upon a Time) as a medical resident who becomes a zombie.

To deal with her appetite for brains, she finds a job at a morgue where she eats the brains of murder victims.

However, when she eats these brains, she experiences flashbacks that provide clues to the murders.

Pretending to be a psychic, she works with the Seattle Police Department to solve crimes.

Meanwhile, her boss Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti (Rahul Kohli), who becomes her confidante, works to develop a cure for her.

Rounding out the TV series starting today, Supergirl, as we previously mentioned, also kicks off production today, and continues until October 17.

As for shows that are leaving, Season 1 of Chesapeake Shores wraps up production on July 28. The series shoots on Vancouver Island, with some locations in Metro Vancouver.

The drama series, based on Sherryl Woods’ novels, started filming in May and follows a New York City career woman (Meghan Ory, who plays Ruby Lucas/Red Riding Hood in Once Upon a Time) who visits her hometown of Chesapeake Shores.

There, she sees familiar faces from her past, including her high-school sweetheart (Jesse Metcalfe, Desperate Housewives), her father (Treat Williams, Everwood), and her grandmother (Diane Ladd, Wild at Heart).

Her visit prompts her to re-evaluate her life as a mother of twin girls and what sacrifices she has made for her career.

Meanwhile, the aforementioned Metcalfe is also starring in the mystery-thriller feature film The Ninth Passenger, which started shooting on July 11.

It’s been a brief visit to the city as it wraps up on Saturday (July 30).

The film follows eight college students who take a midnight trip on the ocean but discover that they’re being hunted down by a mysterious ninth passenger.

Although we previously mentioned the time-traveling sci-fi drama Travelers, starring Eric McCormack, was wrapping up on July 19, it looks like it’s now concluding its Season 1 shoot also on July 28.

While the city is busy celebrating the B.C. Day long weekend, Boon Joon-ho’s Okja starts production on July 31.

This Netflix sci-fi adventure film, by the director of Snowpiercer, began production in Seoul, South Korea; moved to New York City; and relocates to Vancouver this weekend.

As international as its shooting locations are the film’s cast members, which includes Jake Gylenhaal (Nightcrawler), Tilda Swinton (Hail! Caesar), Paul Dano (12 Years a Slave), Daniel Henshaw (The Babadook), Yoon Je Moon (Mother), and Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead).

The story follows Mija (Seohyun An) who goes to great lengths to prevent a multinational company from capturing a massive animal she has befriended.

Well, that brings us to the end of this round.

We’ll be back next week after the August 1 holiday. But in the meantime, don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled as you head out there star-spotting.