hbo crime thriller Work Thanks to the state’s generous support, it will return to Pennsylvania with star Mark Ruffalo for a second season.
The Pennsylvania Film Office announced this on Monday Work Will receive a record $49.8 million tax credit, the largest amount given by the state to a single production.
The effort is expected to bring approximately 3,700 jobs to Pennsylvania as HBO estimates it will invest $194.1 million in the state’s economy, which includes hiring local staff and paying for hotel accommodations.
The first season, which was filmed in and around Philadelphia, hired 777 Pennsylvanians as local crew, cast and background players for 177 days, bringing $230 million to the region, as reported by the Greater Philadelphia Film Office earlier this month.
Work comes from mare of easttown Producer Brad Inglesby, a Berwyn writer who has developed a reputation for putting Delco (and Philly) crime stories on national television. Last week, HBO announced that the popular show will return for a second season, which is expected to film primarily in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
The tax credit is part of Governor Josh Shapiro’s efforts to bring more TV and film production to Pennsylvania.
“This is the largest tax credit ever given to a single show, and we are proud to support another returning series from homegrown storyteller Brad Inglesby through the Film Production Tax Credit Program,” Pennsylvania Film Commissioner Gino Anthony Pesci said in a statement.
“The Shapiro administration understands that productions like to support Work Had a powerful impact on Pennsylvania’s creative economy through the creation of thousands of direct and indirect jobs, while also providing new opportunities to local businesses in the Southeast region.
Ingelsby is committed to “investing in authenticity” not only through writing film and TV scripts based in the Philadelphia area, but also placing an emphasis on shooting his productions on location whenever possible.
“There’s value in shooting it where it’s set – it brings something to the production, to the characters, to the emotion that you can’t emulate anywhere else,” Inglesby told The Enquirer in September.
“Philadelphia and its surrounding locations add an invaluable level of authenticity to the series,” Janet Graham Borba, HBO’s executive vice president of production, said in the statement. “Furthermore, the opportunity to bring a production of this caliber to Pennsylvania and provide employment to its citizens and businesses is extremely gratifying for Brad Inglesby and all of us at HBO.”
Shooting with the Pennsylvania crew also had an impact Work The cast: Some of the cast, including Emilia Jones, who played Maeve Prendergrast, mingled with crew members, who even helped her learn the difficult-to-pronounce Delko accent.
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