Albuquerque, NM — Albuquerque (ABQ) Studios has announced that 13 hour-long episodes of the drama Hieroglyph, produced by 20th Century Fox TV and Chernin Entertainment, will begin filming at the studio later this month. Set construction is already underway on incredibly detailed sets taking up four of ABQ’s massive soundstages.
The new show is a demonstration of the industry’s continued support for New Mexico’s enhanced film incentive program, which last year saw a boost to 30% direct cash rebate for qualified television series.
Hieroglyph, starring British actor Reece Ritchie, is a drama set in ancient Egypt, where fantasy and reality are intertwined. It follows a notorious thief who is plucked from prison to serve the Pharaoh, navigating palace intrigue, seductive concubines, criminal underbellies and even a few divine sorcerers. “We wanted to do a show about deceit, sex, intrigue in the court and fantastical goings-on – no better place to set that than ancient Egypt,” said Fox Entertainment Chairman Kevin Reilly. Created by Travis Beacham, co-writer of Pacific Rim, the series was given a straight-to-series order in mid-October 2013.
New Mexico has a long history of doubling for Northern Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and other arid locations. Most recently it filled in for Afghanistan in the box office hit, Lone Survivor starring Mark Wahlberg and in both SEAL Team 6: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden and Brothers starring Natalie Portman and Toby McGuire. Also, the outskirts of Deming doubled for Morocco in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, to name just a few.
ABQ Studios is no stranger to large shows occupying their stages. In addition to major feature films like The Avengers and Terminator: Salvation, the world-class facility was previously home to the six-year run of multiple Emmy Award winning series Breaking Bad, which moved in shortly after the studio first opened in 2007.
The Breaking Bad production itself directly spent an estimated $65-70 Million on goods, services and wages in the state of New Mexico.
Many of the stellar crew from the AMC series, coming off recent DGA, SAG and Golden Globe wins for their final episodes, are already working on Hieroglyph.
“It’s great to see the parking lot filling up with New Mexico license plates again,” says Wayne Rauschenberger, Chief Operating Officer of ABQ Studios. There are currently over 100 construction workers building sets on four stages.
For more information on ABQ Studios, visit: www.abqstudios.com.
Source: http://www.ballantinespr.com/News/ABQ/hieroglyph_release.html