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EDITORIAL: The Last of Us

With an ever-growing list of TV productions setting up shop in Alberta, it's clear that producers have discovered the Wildrose province as a great place to film.
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Getting her hair done provided an Airdrie mother an unexpected and exciting opportunity last year. 

Lindsey Ricioppo's newborn twins Mila and Luca will be appearing in an upcoming episode of the hit HBO series The Last Of Us, which was filmed throughout 2022 in Calgary and other parts of Alberta. The opportunity arose after Ricioppo struck up a conversation with her hairstylist's mother, who just so happened to own a talent agency and was looking for newborn baby twins to cast for the upcoming show. 

Since the show's pilot aired on Jan. 15, The Last of Us has already drawn a massive audience. It has been particularly exciting for Albertans, who get to see their province as the main backdrop in plenty of scenes. Shots of the Alberta Legislature and Calgary's Fourth Ave. flyover have already gone viral on social media. 

This is not the first time an Alberta-shot production has created a buzz in recent years. Under the Banner of Heaven, a 2022 FX show featuring Andrew Garfield, and 2021's Ghostbusters: Afterlife were also filmed in various Albertan communities in recent years. Some scenes for Netflix's future show My Life with the Walter Boys were shot locally last year. 

With an ever-growing list of TV productions setting up shop in Alberta, it's clear that producers have discovered the Wildrose province as a great place to film. Alberta's Film and Television Tax Credit, the natural beauty of the Rocky Mountains, and other cost incentives have made Alberta a competitive choice for hosting film and TV productions.

And Alberta is certainly benefiting. According to the Alberta Film Commission, Alberta's revenues from the TV and film industries were projected to double in 2022 to $995 million in net production values and an anticipated $482 million in spending.

Going forward, Albertans should expect more big-name productions to continue setting up shop on our back door, which is a good thing overall. The Last of Us won't be the last of them.

 

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