Filming in Austin
The Lying Game keeps Austin crews steadily employed as production begins onSeason 2
The cast of The Lying Game. The series began production on Season 2 earlier inJuly.
Charisma Carpenter (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel) and Adrian Pasdar (Heroes)in The Lying Game.
For five straight years, the critically acclaimed drama Friday Night Lights provided steady jobs for crew members in and around Austin, and ended up being a part of the city’s exuberant culture.
“I was an extra on Friday Night Lights,” were words that echoed throughout the town, day in and day out, when the show first began filming. Lead actor Kyle Chandler even went on to gush about how amazing of an experience he had filming in Austin as he accepted his Emmy in 2011.
ABC’s My Generation, which was set in Austin, could have been the next show to take the torch and allow Austin’s television scene to flourish, but was unfortunately cancelled after a mere two episodes.
Now, ABC Family’s surprise hit The Lying Game seems to be off to a great start in keeping the crews in Austin employed. The series premiered last winter and was renewed after building upon its audience episode after episode throughout the season.
The Lying Game is set in Scottsdale, AZ and follows foster child, Emma Becker (Alexandra Chondo) who finds out she has an identical twin sister, Sutton. The two were, of course, separated at birth, with each sister living completely opposite lives.
They agree to switch places as Sutton goes out to seek information about their biological parents and Emma gets more than she bargained for as she finds out her sister has a lot more going on than she led her to believe.
The show was able to achieve what Sarah Michelle Gellar’s similarly themed series Ringer couldn’t — The Lying Game owned up to the camp factor, while still being interesting and compelling enough to engage viewers, as noted by the week-to-week increase in ratings.
And while the show features a batch of young, up-and-coming actors, the series also has an impressive group of adults sprinkled throughout. Adrian Pasdar (Heroes) and Andy Buckley (The Office) star in the series and Charisma Carpenter (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) was recently promoted to a series regular.
The Lying Game started production on its sophomore season last week at Austin Studios off of 51st Street and has been known to film on location from time to time. Last season, they filmed at places like The Travis County Courthouse, Fado and Steiner Ranch.
Sure, shows filming in Austin aren’t all that rare — we’ve recently had Bravo’s Top Chef: Texas as well as NGC’s America’s Lost Treasures film here, but it’s nice to have a new series indefinitely call Austin home.
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The Lying Game airs on ABC Family and its sophomore season has a projected premiere date in January. Check out what favorite places the stars like to visit in Austin on their days off here.
