Manchester has a blockbuster year for movies and TV dramas filmed in the city

Written by Louise Rhind-Tutt
Last updated 4 years ago
Cinema, City of Manchester, Culture, TV & Radio

Screen Manchester, the city’s film office, has enjoyed its busiest year to date, attracting some of the biggest TV and film hits to be made this year. And 2020 also looks set to become busier still.

Earlier in the year, Hollywood superstar Jared Leto was pictured in the Northern Quarter shooting scenes for the Marvel/Sony Pictures blockbuster feature Morbius, the Spider-Man spin-off movie also starring Matt Smith, which will be released in 2020.

It’s one of many big hits for Screen Manchester, which was set up in 2017 in response to the growing demand from production companies looking to produce content in the region and is based on the same site as the Space Studios Manchester in Gorton.

Matt Smith Morbius — Matt Smith films Morbius NQ. Photo: Adam Pester

Other productions this year have included World On Fire (BBC), The A Word series three (BBC), The Stranger (Netflix), Little Birds (Sky), Das Boot series two (Sky), Bancroft series two (ITV), Life (BBC), Cold Feet series nine (ITV), and Brassic series two (Sky) amongst others.

In fact, over the course of 2019, Screen Manchester processed some 454 production enquiries, with over 300 productions shot over a total of 684 filming days across TV, film, music and commercial productions.

This has generated an estimated ‘on location spend’ of over £7 million.

And 2019 also saw more flights scheduled from LA to Manchester Airport to serve the increasing demand of the industry, proving again that Manchester is the biggest draw to international producers outside London.

Photographer: Ben Blackall / © Caryn Mandabach Productions Ltd. 2019

“It has been a blockbuster of a year, and only when you see all the projects written down do you realise just how sought after Manchester is as a place to film the best drama,” says Screen Manchester’s Bobby Cochrane.

“We have welcomed teams from a host of internationally renowned producers as well as creatives from Netflix, Amazon, Sky, Sony Pictures and the BBC to name a few.”

And 2020 looks to be even busier when it comes to filming in Manchester.

There are already a number of productions, including BBC drama Peaky Blinders, which have set up base at Space Studios Manchester ahead of filming commencing next year for series six.

Watch this space.

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