As another year of filming comes to an end, we take a look back at some of the outstanding TV Dramas that have visited us in 2023. Television has had exponential growth in the last few years and we are always delighted to welcome them into the borough at our wide range of filming locations. Check out some of the most recent releases below…
Culprits
The aftermath of a high-stakes theft is the subject of the new thriller ‘Culprits’ follows a group of elite criminals in the aftermath of a high-stakes heist who have parted ways and attempted to move on from their previous life when a merciless assassin begins to target them one by one.
Culprits visited the borough several times to film scenes for this gripping crime thriller with large shoots taking place in Star Lane Park and some surrounding streets such as Stephenson Street and Ives Road. The production included all of the usual aspects associated with a large production such as this, such as traffic control, drones, and various types of equipment.
You can stream all episodes of Culprits on Disney+ now and watch the trailer below!
Grime Kids
Grime Kids is an original drama inspired by DJ Target’s book of the same name, which explores the rise of grime music from an East End subculture to an international phenomenon. Grime Kids is set in 2001 at the start of summer as it follows the five friends Dane, Junior, Kai, Bishop, and Bayo, who are known as the “Gladiator Crew” and addresses themes of community, family, young love, goals, and, most importantly, friendship.
The production filmed for a day at one of the boroughs biggest community hubs, Queens Market, a market that runs Tuesday to Saturday and serves the very diverse local community so you will find foodstuffs as well as jewellery, fabric and trimmings for all cultures. The market served as the perfect backdrop for the scene and the filming went by without a hitch as the production worked hand in hand with the local traders to make sure all were happy and as minimal impact as possible was imposed on their businesses.
Grime Kids also filmed on several streets in the borough such Stephenson Street & Bidders Road in conjunction with some filming in a local nightclub. Keep your eyes peeled for any others in the trailer below! You can now stream the entire series on BBC iPlayer.
Criminal Record
Coming soon to Apple TV+ is another gripping ‘Criminal Record’, following two detectives, one a seasoned veteran and the other early in her career, clash on an old murder case after an anonymous phone call draws them to it.
The production chose the borough of Newham for one of their high-stakes, tense scenes (of which we imagine there will be many in the series) involving a car chase and a shootout. Naturally scenes of this nature requiring a lot of planning in the lead up to make sure the local area is minimally impacted and scenes can be executed as safely as possible. This involves real life police presence for public reassurance when filming with replica firearms and prop emergency service vehicles.
As Jacob Hughes-Rodgers, the Film Officer on the job said, “Working on a drama of this size in a heavily residential area comes with an abundance of challenges: both logistically and practically. Clear and concise planning was undertaken with multiple site visits with the locations team to come to a plan that worked for both the production creatively but also meant the impact on the local area was kept to a minimum. On the shoot day it was very pleasing to see all the hard work come to fruition and the shoot went by smoothly. When productions of this size roll into town its imperative there are tangible benefits brought to the local borough. The production hired multiple local businesses with almost £3k in local spend and more specifically facilitated a paid marshalling experience for a resident based in the borough. The continued positives productions bring of this size create a ripple effect whenever they shoot on location so its fantastic to be able to facilitate these productions consistently turn up in Newham”
‘Criminal Record’ is due to hit Apple TV+ on January 10th 2024 and we can’t wait to see what it looks like, in the meantime check out the trailer below!
We look forward to visiting many more productions in the borough in 2024, and from all of us at the Newham Film Office – we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
