Illinois-Shot Shows ‘The Bear,’ ‘Lovecraft Country’ and ‘South Side’ Benefit From Rapidly Expanding Production Facilities, Incentives
Paula Hendrickson Illinois is no stranger to the film industry. Essanay Studios, founded in Chicago in 1907, is where silent film stars including Wallace Beery, Gloria Swanson, and Charlie Chaplin made some of their earliest films. Although filmmakers soon flocked to Hollywood, with its robust advertising industry, Chicago became — and continues to be — a hot spot for making commercials. Today, TV productions are on the rise with shows including “The Chi,” “The Bear,” “South Side” and others joining Dick Wolf ’s “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago P.D.” and “Chicago Med.” Many Windy City-based series are shot in the nation’s second-largest soundstage, Cinespace Chicago.